


Star Wars: The Unending

by M_V_P_Knight



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Alternate Timelines, Dark Side Sith Inquisitor, F/M, Forgiveness, Lightsabers, Redemption, Romance, The Force, The Force Ships It, The Light Side of the Force (Star Wars), War, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 49,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27300331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_V_P_Knight/pseuds/M_V_P_Knight
Summary: What if Darth Vader found redemption, but did not die? What if this is not the ending? Luke does not go to meet him on the forest moon of Endor, but Ahsoka does. Darth Vader and Ahsoka fight together to take over a secret supply of battle droids in hopes of turning the tide in the Rebellion's favor. Darth Vader can only hope to gain his son's forgiveness and find a new life.
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Darth Vader
Comments: 27
Kudos: 58





	1. A Change of Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, before we get into the story, I wanted to tell you a few things. I'm trying to write this in such a way where it's comprehensible for people even if they have only seen the original trilogy. Ahsoka, who wasn't in the original trilogy, plays a major role in Star Wars: The Unending, but anything you need to know about her will be explained. In fact, if you haven't seen the prequel trilogy, I'll make sure you can keep up with this story. However, I do recommend you watch the Clone Wars and Rebels if you haven't already. I want to point out that this story might have inconsistencies with future Star Wars content concerning Ahsoka. What I mean by that is, there has been talk about Ahsoka possibly getting her own series, but as of writing this story, that hasn't happened yet so there might be something in this story that conflicts with something that happens in that series. If that happens, we'll just chalk it up to this being an alternate timeline. Also, forget everything about episodes 7, 8 and 9; those movies are even worse than the prequels and I will not budge on that statement.
> 
> This is my first time writing a story in present tense. Here's hoping I adapt to it well.
> 
> One more thing I want you to know; I put action senses into my fanfictions. There isn't an action sense in this chapter, but there will be action in chapter 2.
> 
> Now, let us begin.

A long time ago in a galaxy far,  
  
far away . . . 

  
STAR  
  
WARS

  
The Unending  
The Rebel Alliance is preparing an  
attack on the second Death Star.  
Luke Skywalker has been sent to help  
in the effort to destroy the shield  
generator on the forest moon of  
Endor. Fearing that he will put the  
mission at risk and hoping that his  
father can be redeemed, Luke  
considers seeking out Darth Vader.

After gaining a new alliance on the  
forest moon of Endor, Luke is ready  
to leave, but his sister may yet  
change his mind. Darth Vader travels  
to the forest moon of Endor, expeting  
his son to come to him and unaware  
of who is more likely to find him.

Ahsoka Tano has found a sacred cave  
on the lost planet Rezlice which holds  
the power to communicate across the  
galaxy with those who hold a strong  
connection. Dubious, but hopeful to  
give her old master one last chance,  
Ahsoka seeks to speak with Darth Vader  
and bring him back to the light. . . .

  
  
Luke somehow knows Leia will follow him as he exits the room: her and no one else. Which is fortunate as she is the one whom he must speak to alone. On a bridge between two platforms built around abnormally large trees, Luke waits for his unknowing sister. Sure enough, Lia arrives and is curious to know what troubles him. This is the moment when fate changes course.  
  
“I need you to know a few things,” Luke says gently.  
  
“Sure. What is it?”  
  
“I should have told you sooner, but I wasn’t sure if it was true. There’s a reason Vader searches for me.”  
  
“Because he wants you to join him,” Leia guesses.  
  
“Yes, but . . . there’s more. I see know that Vader and I are connected. That’s how he knows we’re here. That’s why I need to leave so I don’t put the rest of you in danger.”  
  
“What kind of connection?”  
  
Luke explains solemnly, “Vader can sense my presence; the presence of his son.”  
  
Leia took a step back in surprise. “Luke, that’s impossible.”  
  
“I thought so too, at first. I told myself I’m nothing like him; then I realized I’ve had moments when the dark side calls to me. I told myself it was just too big a coincidence that you sent your droids to find Obi Wan Kenobi and they just happen to find Vader’s son; then I realized why Obi Wan was there.”  
  
This is a hard concept for Leia to wrap her head around. She never would have imaged that Luke had anything to do with Darth Vader until now. “Luke, I can’t image what you be going through.”  
  
“I’m sorry to say, but you’re about to know.”  
  
“Wha-what do you mean?”  
  
“I mean that Vader had two children,” Luke says solemnly.  
  
They both just looked at each other, letting it sink in. “You’re telling me that we are brother and sister?”  
  
“I guess it just got easier for you to choose between me and Han,” Luke says, trying to lighten the mood a little.  
  
Leia is not amused. “Luke, don’t make jokes about this!”  
  
“I’m sorry.” Luke stares at the floor, returning to the low spirits he attempted to escape. “At least he doesn’t know about you. He doesn’t know you’re his daughter. That’s why I need to go and you need to stay.”  
  
“Don’t go,” Leia pleads. She paces back and forth with a hand on her forehead, trying to figure out a solution to problem she barely understands. “Well . . . if Vader can sense your presence because of your connection, can’t you just . . . not be connected to him anymore?”  
  
Luke avoids eye contact. Leia can tell what he isn’t saying.  
  
“Unless you don’t want to lose that connection.”  
  
Luke says, “I have to try to bring him back to the light. It might be hopeless, but he’s my father.”  
  
“Is he?! He didn’t raise you! He never did anything for you.” Leia grabs Luke’s mechanical hand and continues, “The only thing he gave you was this!”  
  
Luke stares at his mechanical hand, considering her words.  
  
Leia says insistently, “You don’t owe him anything! Don’t leave for that monster! Stay for . . . for your sister.”  
  
Luke keeps staring at that hand until a tear spills out of his eye. “Alright.” Luke takes a deep breath and releases it. Luke chooses to give up on his father and sever the connection. “Alright. I’ll stay . . . for you.”

  
  
Vader has become accustom to feeling disturbances in the force. But what disturbs him now in a lack of feeling. Less than an hour ago, he could sense Luke’s presence on this moon, but now his attempts to reach out are met with . . . nothing. Is Luke even on this moon anymore? He can’t tell. Still, the Emperor has foreseen that Luke Skywalker would come to him and Vader has no doubts for his predictions.  
  
The imperial landing craft lands on the platform and lowers its ramp, allowing Vader to disembark. Beside the high landing platform, an AT-AT marches, keeping watch over the base; a fine sight to be greeted with.  
  
Darth Vader searches the base, ending up on a walkway with an open view of the forest and its abnormally massive trees. It is here where he finds the man in charge who stands at attention in Vader’s presence. Darth Vader asks him, “Commander, have there been any sightings of rebels near the base?”  
  
“No, my lord. We have kept a vigilant watch, but no one has been seen.”  
  
Vader is half surprised to hear this. He didn’t know why, but he had expected Luke to already be here. The commander is sweating as Vader stares motionless. With the ominous helmet covering his entire face, the commander can’t tell if Vader is frustrated with him or simply thinking hard.  
  
Vader tells him, “I will be outside, near the base. Informed me as soon as there has been a rebel sighting. But, otherwise, I am not to be disturbed.”  
  
“Yes, my lord,” says the commander, dripping with relief.  
  
Vader makes his way to an elevator, wondering if he should be worried. First, he can’t feel Luke’s presence and now there hasn’t been a sighting of any rebel turning himself in.  
  
Vader steps outside and makes his way to the trees in hopes that he can see Luke arrive and have a bit of privacy until then. Gazing out into the thick of the forest, Vader tries to sense his son’s presence, but can find only emptiness. Darth Vader has not felt so alone since before he discovered that Luke was alive. For years, he didn’t have a family; bringing his son to the dark side seemed to be his last hope of having something to make his life worth living. Besides Luke, he doesn’t have anyone in his life that he truly cares for; not anymore. He pretends otherwise, but his relationship with the Emperor is really one where there’re each wondering who will betray the other first. Vader cared nothing for the other imperials; maybe it’s the darkness in his own soul; maybe, deep down, he hates them for their loyalty to the Empire. But for whatever reason, he sees imperial stormtroopers and even high ranking officers as disposable. And he never hesitated to enact the disposal. There truly is no one in his life he considers a friend anymore. If he could have his son, that would be enough for him. But the harder he tries to reach out, the more alone he feels.  
  
But wait! There’s someone here. At least their might be. This presence is familiar yet incomplete. It’s hazy. Vader has an idea who this might be, but why would she come to him?  
  
“Been a while; hasn’t it, Skyguy?”  
  
Vader’s loud breathing hastens at the sound of that voice. He turns and sees AHSO . . . ka? Is that her or is he seeing things? It looks like her, but she looks like a phantom; Vader could see through her, she was glowing and all her colors were paled.  
  
“Before you draw your lightsaber, you should know I’m not actually there . . . here . . . ? I’m not where you are; wherever that is.”  
  
“Then what is this?” Vader demands.  
  
“I found this fancy cave; you’ll understand if I don’t tell you where that is. And, from here, I can reach out to people I have a connection with.”  
  
“And you’ve chosen to reach out to me?” Vader asks incredulously.  
  
“That’s right,” Ahsoka says with mild frustration. Even she is wondering why she would do this.  
  
“I have not heard of such a cave.”  
  
“They don’t tell Sith lords about this kind of stuff.”  
  
“And who would ‘they’ be?” Vader inquirs.  
  
“Well, they don’t tell Sith lords that either.”  
  
“I see.” Vader isn’t sure if he likes this arrangement. But he can’t exactly strike her down. He thinks, “Perhaps it would be harmless to entertain her for now; as long as she does not interfere.” Vader says out loud, “If you’ve come to remanence about our time in the Clone Wars, make it quick. My time may be short.”  
  
“Oh, really? What’s the rush?”  
  
“Luke Skywalker will be here soon. I will take him to the Emperor and he will be turned to the dark side.” Saying that, knowing it is likely not true makes Vader’s feel even worse.  
  
Ahsoka fakes a gasp as she places her hands over her mouth, playfully pretending to be shocked. She returns to her smug countenance. “That’s an interesting theory, but I don’t buy it.”  
  
“You doubt the Emperor’s prediction?” Vader asks, not taking offence as much as being curious.  
  
“Well, unlike you and I back in the day, Luke doesn’t have any Jedi Order to be frustrated with,” Ahsoka reasons.  
  
“That may not be entirely true. Obi Wan never told him he was my son. His deception may have driven Luke away.”  
  
“HAH! You say that like you Sith are ever honest!” Ahsoka counters. “If he’s driven away by deception, he’s not going to be driven toward you and your Emperor.”  
  
Vader can’t prove that statement wrong.  
  
Ahsoka continues more somberly, “Speaking of which, what was it? You know, for you? Why did you turn to the dark side?”  
  
Vader thinks twice, but why not? “What I did, I did for Padme.”  
  
This is the first time, Ahsoka is as angry with him as he would have expected her to be. She says firmly, “If we were really in the same place, I’d take that helmet off your head and slap you SO HARD!”  
  
Vader considers telling her, “Were we in the same place, I would strike you down with my lightsaber.” But he decides against, remaining silent.  
  
Ahsoka continues, “You seriously want to tell me that literally any of this was for Padme’s sake?! She stood for liberty! She stood against the Emperor you joined! What do you think she would say if she was here?!”  
  
“That . . . does not matter now,” Vader says, a subtle hint of pain in his voice. “The truth is, I had received visions of Padme’s death. I joined the Emperor because he told me he could teach me a way to save her.”  
  
“Did he?”  
  
Vader looks away from Ahsoka, embarrassed to say it. “He did not.”  
  
Ahsoka snorts with bitter amusement. “You really missed up. You know that, Skyguy?”  
  
He does know that. He just isn’t willing to admit that. “I . . . would rather remanence about our time in the Clone Wars,” Vader says weakly.  
  
Ahsoka thinks twice. She is still a little upset with him, but this is encouraging. Maybe she had a reason to reach out to him after all. “Alright, uh . . . Do you remember how old I was when first met?”  
  
“You were fourteen years old,” Vader answers.  
  
Ahsoka considers telling him passive aggressively, “Lucky guess.” But she decides against it. “That’s right,” she does say out loud.  
  
“That was a very long time ago,” Vader says, examining the now forty year old Ahsoka. She looks different, but instantly recognizable. The blue stripes on her white montrals have changed: now they look more like lightning bolts with their thin, erratic shapes and, in some places, branching paths. Most of her face is still dark orange, but the white marks have noticeably expanded.  
  
“You were nineteen and you thought you weren’t ready to be my master. You thought I was supposed to be assigned to Obi Wan and there must have been ‘some mistake’ when I said it was you. But you . . .” Ahsoka is unsure about whether or not to put this out there. But she wants to be encouraging if this is going to work. “You were a good master.”  
  
This comes as a surprise to Vader. “You still think so?”  
  
“Yes.” There is no hesitation this time.  
  
Silence persists until Darth Vader replies, “You were an admirable apprentice.”  
  
They both knew the answer, but they still couldn’t help but wonder how it came to this. The last time they met, they were trying to kill each other, but they used to be so close.  
  
Trying to get away from the saddest parts of their story, Ahsoka asked, “How many battle droids do you think the two of us destroyed during the Clone Wars?”  
  
“Thousands, to be sure. Perhaps tens of thousands.”  
  
Ahsoka tilts her head to the side, dubiously. Tens of thousands? It was only a three year war. Then again, it was an eventful three years. Ahsoka says, “Perhaps. We used to compare how many droids we scraped in a single battle. We got triple digits pretty often.”  
  
A thought occurs to both of them. Ahsoka wonders how many rebel soldiers Vader has killed, but she doesn’t want to ask. She’s not even sure she wants to know. Vader wants to tell exactly how many rebels he’s killed, but there’s something about her saddened eyes and crossed arms that makes him hold back. “Separatist battle droids were quite ineffective,” he says instead.  
  
“Yeah, no kidding.”  
  
“They were never actually meant to win the war.”  
  
That is a confusing statement. Ahsoka doesn’t have eyebrows, but she furrows the white marks on her face were eyebrows would have been. “What do you mean?”  
  
“The Emperor was controlling both sides of the Clone Wars. The true purpose of the Separatist Army was not to defeat the Republic, but to create a scenario in which the Emperor could rise to power and destroy the Jedi. It was Emperor Palpatine who led the Separatists as well as it was Palpatine who arranged for the Clone Army to be constructed.”  
  
Ahsoka’s jaw hangs wide open. Vader’s explaining of the Clone Wars is a lot to take in. Ahsoka isn’t sure why she believes him, but she does. In retrospect, it makes an unnerving amount of sense. “Wow, that’s uh . . . So that whole time, we were just playing out Palpatine’s plans?”  
  
“That is correct.”  
  
“How long have you known all this?”  
  
“I did not know until after the last time I saw you as Anakin Skywalker.”  
  
“Did you only join him after we parted ways?”  
  
Vader replies, “Yes.”  
  
That was strangely a bit of a relief. That meant he wasn’t pretending to be on the same when they fought together. “I don’t get why you’re still loyal to him,” Ahsoka says quietly. “You said so yourself that he didn’t give you what you wanted.”  
  
Darth Vader knows her confusion to be justified. Yet he hesitates to tell her the truth. Vader looks around suspiciously, making sure there is no one to overhear. He steps closer to Ahsoka’s ghostly projection and speaks with a softer volume. “I have no loyalty to the Emperor.” Ahsoka’s eyes go wide as Vader continues, “He is a means to an end. Once Luke Skywalker becomes my apprentice, we will dispose of the Emperor together.”  
  
Ahsoka’s face brightens up astronomically with amusement. She looks like she’s about to burst into laughter, but she instead holds an open-mouth-smile and says, “Really? Is that how it is?”  
  
“That it is,” Vader confirms.  
  
“Wow,” Ahsoka says, still smiling bright. Vader can tell that this is not an I’m-so-happy-for-you happiness as much as it is a you-Sith-are-so-funny happiness. “You know, it was never like that for us back when we were Jedi. You had the perfect opportunity to get rid of me, but you saved me instead. And I know I didn’t see you as a means to an end or someone to be disposed of. I think you know that too. We weren’t enemies until; that only changed once you became a Sith.”  
  
“No!” Vader says firmly. “That is not what happened.”  
  
Ahsoka glares at Vader, unable to fathom how what she said could be inaccurate. “Alright. Why don’t you tell me what you think happened?”  
  
“Even when I became a Sith, I did not betray you.”  
  
Ahsoka explodes, shouting, “YOU WERE THE ONE WHO . . .” She stops herself and breathes deeply. “Go on,” she growls.  
  
“When the Emperor sent the order to wipe out the Jedi, I assumed you would be spared. Because you were no longer a Jedi.”  
  
“I wasn’t,” Ahsoka clarifies. “They tried to kill me; they just didn’t succeed.”  
  
Vader pauses before saying, “For that, you have my apologies.”  
  
“Wait what?” Ahsoka thinks. “Did Darth Vader just apologize to me?”  
  
“I viewed the Jedi order as evil. That did not extend to you.”  
  
Ahsoka looks at him softer.  
  
Vader continues, “I meant what I said. I did not betray you. When we met in the Sith temple long after the Clone Wars, do you remember what I told you?  
  
Ahsoka is hit with realization. “You told me we didn’t need to be adversaries.”  
  
“Yes. I wanted you to join me.”  
  
Ahsoka had always assumed that Vader was only trying to use her to further the Empire’s agenda when he made that offer. But now she sees the truth. “You were trying protect me. You wanted me back.” She takes a moment to let it sink in before saying, “But you know I couldn’t have joined the Empire. Especially after you told me that you killed Anakin Skywalker.”  
  
“Perhaps it was a poor choice of words. Perhaps I should have told you the full truth. I didn’t want to fight you that day.”  
  
Ahsoka remembers vividly what happened. Vader had deactivated his lightsaber to speak with her and only reignite it when she ignited hers. It wasn’t her fault, but she can see what Vader meant when he said he didn’t betray her. Still, there was more to that story. Ahsoka says, her voice choked up, “You did betray me that day. When I found out who you are, I said, ‘I won’t leave you; not this time.’ And you told me, ‘Then you will die.’ Do you remember that?”  
  
Vader replies, “I stood there and gave you enough time to leave. I wanted you to leave. We fought because I knew you were staying so you could kill me.”  
  
Ahsoka breaks into tears. “Is that what you think?!” she sobs.  
  
Vader’s heart sinks as the realization weighs him down. When Ahsoka told him she wasn’t leaving, her lightsabers were deactivated. “You stayed because you wanted me to come back.”  
  
“So what is it?!” Ahsoka asks furiously, tears making their way down her cheeks. “What is it about the dark side that you can’t bring yourself to leave?!”  
  
“You speak as though the Jedi were better.”  
  
“They were! The Jedi Order wasn’t perfect, but even at its worst, it wasn’t half as bed as the Empire!”  
  
Darth Vader says with a little uncertainty, “The Empire has brought order to the galaxy.”  
  
“Oh, right! Slavery has been legalized and people’s homes are forcibly taken from them! Much more orderly and sensible that way!” Ahsoka shouts sarcastically. “Don’t act like you have any moral high ground! You’ve become all the worst parts of the Separatists we fought against and all the worst parts of the Republic we hated being a part of!”  
  
Vader doesn’t say a word. He lowers his head without a counterargument.  
  
Ahsoka asks, “Do you even know what you’re fighting for anymore?!”  
  
Vader jolts his head in her direction. He steps closer and thunders, “OF COURSE I DON’T!”  
  
Ahsoka stares at him, stunned to hear that.  
  
Vader drops his shoulders and he turns away from her in shame. “I don’t know what I’m fighting for,” he says softly. Ahsoka can see that he has never admitted it to himself before.  
  
“This might be a lot easier than I thought,” Ahsoka thinks. She calls out gently, “Anakin-”  
  
“Anakin Skywalker is dead,” Vader insists.  
  
“I don’t believe that.”  
  
“I killed him! He was weak.”  
  
“That’s not true! You were the strongest person I knew!”  
  
“Anakin Skywalker was weak because he had no one to turn to,” Vader explains. “What was he supposed to do? Stay with his doomed wife and do nothing more than hope his visions were wrong? Or perhaps he should have continued to slave away for the good an order that denies him everything? Who did Anakin Skywalker have to turn to?”  
  
“ME!” Ahsoka shouts. For a time, Ahsoka breathes heavily with hurting eyes as she stares into the lenses in Darth Vader’s helmet. She says quietly and shakily, “If you were frustrated with the order . . . and if you lost your family . . . you should have come looking for me.”  
  
“You . . . were the one who left me,” Vader counters. “I wanted you to come back.”  
  
“I know. . . . And I shouldn’t have left. Anakin . . . I’m sorry. I should have stayed. But this time, I’m not leaving. This time, I’m bringing you back!” Ahsoka prepares for Vader’s resistance.  
  
But Vader asks, “You would still have me?”  
  
“Yes,” Ahsoka replies without hesitation. “Anakin, your son won’t join you in the darkness. But you can join him in the light. And I will help you get there. I know it’s not too late for you. If someone as good as Anakin Skywalker can become as evil as Darth Vader, than we have to believe that someone as evil as Darth Vader can become as good as Anakin Skywalker.”  
  
Darth Vader takes a good look at the Imperial base. Going with Ahsoka would mean leaving a life behind. He would lose his master and abandon the Empire. Really, there is nothing but good reasons to do it. “Ahsoka . . . I will join you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, I wanted Vader turning to the light happen before the next chapter, but I also wanted to take enough time with it for it to feel natural. A lot of people say Luke is the only one who could've turned Vader, but in this chapter he kind of does in a way. Vader knows now that he's gone where his son can't follow and that's one of the biggest reasons he joins Ahsoka.
> 
> I will be posting new chapters of Star Wars: The Unending every Saturday until completion. I have a perfect record of uploading every week.
> 
> If you enjoy Star Wars: The Unending, I encourage you to read my other story, Disney Princesses: Extermination. That story is receiving new chapters every Sunday and will continue to do so until completion.


	2. One of Those Jedi Things

Vader ignores everyone as he marches back to the imperial landing craft. He is done with them. He’s done working for the Empire and doesn’t even want to look at them at the moment. As he walks, he can’t help but worry. Before Ahoska appeared to him, he had thought Luke would come to him. Now, he can only hope his son will welcome him when he apologizes as hard as he possibly can. He comes right in front of the imperial landing craft and stops as an idea occurs to him. If he wants, he can kill everyone in this imperial base. They are his enemies now, but they don’t know that. Vader knows how to cut off their communications before they even know they need help. If he is careful, he can leave no survivors. He could do that. But something feels strange. Yesterday, he felt perfectly comfortable killing imperial officers if they disappointed him. So why is it that once they become his enemies, he hesitates. It must be the light. The Light Side of the Force is changing the way he thinks, making him hesitant to be so cruel. Vader realizes this and it makes him rethink a few things. The Dark Side is corrosive; it twists the mind. How many things had he only done because his way of thinking was warped by the Dark Side? Had he only hated the Jedi because his mind was twisted? “No,” Vader thought. “The Jedi betrayed me. . . . They did; didn’t they?” He isn’t so sure anymore. He rethinks those days long ago, wondering if they had really deserved what he did to them. Vader’s breathing quickens along with his heartrate as he thinks about the day he participated in an attack on a Jedi temple. “They begged for mercy,” Vader thinks in horror. He tried desperately to think of why they had it coming, but the truth is; most of them had done nothing to him. Only a handful of the Jedi actually made the rules and many of them were just as stifled by those rules as he was. “No,” Vader says with dread, putting his hand on his helmet. He thinks, “They . . . they were innocent. Some of them were CHILDREN!” It’s like he is thinking about it clearly for the first time. No longer was he fooled by the darkness into thinking he wasn’t the villain of the story. “What have I done?” Vader can’t help but say out loud.  
  
“Is something wrong, Lord Vader?” asks an imperial officer, noticing his stress.  
  
Vader looks at him. Vader was considering killing him along with the others earlier. But would that be right? He doesn’t know anymore! Another concept clutches Vader. He asks, “Tell me, officer, do you believe that the Emperor cares for the people his leads?”  
  
The officer stands a little taller. “Yes, my lord. I’m proud to be a part of the Empire. The Emperor brings peace and security.”  
  
Vader thought the same thing when he first joined the Emperor. Vader sees now; everyone who joined the Empire was tricked by the Emperor’s lies. The Emperor had pretended to be benevolent and they joined him because they had been fooled the way he had been fooled. And he had been considering killing them.  
  
“I must go!” Vader says, turning to hastily board the imperial landing craft. He orders the crew to get out and no one dares question why. Once Vader is the only one inside, he closes exit ramp and gets in the pilot-seat. He wastes no more time in taking off. He still needs to cut the tacking device, but that can wait until he’s gotten some distance.  
  
As the craft flies higher, Vader realizes that this is the point of no return. If he kills the tacking device and flies away, he will be subject to the wraith of the Galactic Empire. The Emperor will not forgive him and there is only a small chance that the Rebellion will accept his alliance. He can still go back, order everyone at the base to shut up about how weird he was acting, then fly to the Death Star, and calmly explain to the Emperor that Luke will not be joining them. . . . And then the Emperor would demand that Vader hunt down Luke Skywalker and give him his choice of submission or death. Forget that!  
  
Vader rips off the wires, killing the tracking device. “There is no turning back now,” he says to himself.  
  
Suddenly, a hologram appears; one of an imperial officer. “Lord Vader, there’s a problem with you ship’s-”  
  
Without hesitation, Vader ends the transmission with a push of a button. He takes one last check to make sure everything looks right on the ship before he punches it to light-speed. Now, the Emperor will soon know Darth Vader is abandoning him. If only that was the most haunting thing to torment his thoughts. Vader has his guilt to keep his mind busy on this trip to meet Ahsoka on Rezlice.  
  
“How much can I blame on the Dark Side? Where did my instincts end and the corruption begin? How many atrocities can merely be called my participation in war? Even if I have excuses, will I ever be able to absolve myself of everything I’ve done? How can I ever atone for all the damage, all the death? Is it too late? Am I too far gone? If I’m not, can I ever be forgiven?” There are so any questions and he finds himself unable to answer them; either because it’s beyond him to know or because the answer is too painful to admit. “I must admit the truth no matter how much harm it causes me. I fooled myself for too long, thinking that the Jedi deserved annihilation. The truth is, even if my soul if forfeit, I may still be a valuable weapon for Luke. Or, if no one else, Ahsoka. She wishes for my redemption. If I can help her, that will be enough. She may be all I have now.”  
  
This new clarity provided by the light gives Vader the opportunity to reevaluate many things. “Were the Jedi really so bad?” he wonders. It doesn’t take him long to come to a logical conclusion. “The Jedi Order had many flaws, but the galaxy would have been worse without their protection. I had forgotten many good deeds I performed as Anakin Skywalker. I spent so much time not wanting to think about the past. But in those days, we traveled from planet to planet, helping whoever needed us; even when they had nothing to offer in return.” A portion of his former anger returns as Vader thinks about the other side of the story. “But it was not as it should have been. The Jedi’s rules and traditions were beyond barbaric. New recruits were separated from their families at a young age. And then they forbid them from attachment. Jedi were not permitted to marry; what a stupid concept. They no doubt wanted their underlings to have loyalty to nothing apart from the order itself. First of all, forbidding marriage for people that didn’t even choose to be a part of their order leaves them deprived and miserable. Second of all, if Jedi were permitted to marry, they could have given birth to a multitude of children who would have been strong with the Force. And third of all, if I needed not keep my marriage a secret, I would have told them directly that I thought my wife was in danger and they could have told me how to help her and I wouldn’t have joined the Emperor.” After a moment, he realizes he once again needs to take more responsibility for the past. An event from the past occurs to him. There was a time when Ahsoka was receiving visions of Padme’s death. But Ahsoka made no secret of her concern and she actually saved Padme’s life. Anakin could have done the same. He didn’t need to tell anyone they were married to tell anyone she was in danger. “Perhaps I should have told them about my visions. Better yet, I should have told everyone I was married and fought for my write to stay a Jedi. I should have changed the system rather than destroy it.” Vader wallows in despair, thinking about how it’s too late. But then he realizes it might not be. “Luke! Provided he survives tomorrow’s attack, Luke will restore the Jedi Order. If I could have him listen to me, there is a chance that such mistakes may be avoided in the future.” Vader hopes such a future can come to pass, but he is unconvinced that it will. “If he will not listen to me, he may still listen to Ahsoka. There has never been a time when she even considered a path of darkness. Though I do not know if Luke has ever met Ahsoka. And if the first thing he learns about her is her connection to me, then it will still be too late.”

  
  
Sitting in his throne and gazing at the stars through the window, the Emperor is troubled by a strange feeling. He senses that Vader had abandoned him, but he doubts it is true. For years, he has been convinced that Vader is consumed by the Dark Side, beyond hope of escaping it. To satisfy his paranoia, he sends a transmission to the imperial base of Endor. He asks, “Commander, has Lord Vader succeeded in extraction Luke Skywalker?”  
  
The reply doesn’t come immediately. With each second spent in silence, the Emperor grows more anxious. “I . . . assumed you knew, my Emperor. Vader has left the forest moon of Endor . . . alone.”  
  
The Emperor bolts out of his throne in shock. Could it be true? “How long ago was this?” the Emperor demands.  
  
“A few hours. I thought he would be with you by now.”  
A few hours ago was when the Emperor starting feeling this disturbance. It is true. “How could this happen?” thinks the Emperor. “Could it have been that boy?”  
The Emperor asks out loud, “Was there any sighting of Luke Skywalker?”  
  
“No, my Emperor. We have seen no rebel activity.”  
  
The Emperor thinks, “So it may not have been Skywalker to rob me of my apprentice. If young Skywalker lacks the light to turn his father, then perhaps he lacks the light to resist being turned himself. I may not know where on that moon he is, but I know where he is going. Tomorrow, the rebels will attack the shield generator. And since Vader has betrayed me, I will go to retrieve him myself.”

  
  
It’s a good thing they made friends with the locals on the forest moon of Endor. A few ewoks led them to a secret entrance that would give them access to the shield generator. One of them even made a fine distraction to lead most of the guards away. After that, it wasn’t hard to get the last guard to surrender. So far, everything has gone smoothly, but Luke seems a bit off.  
  
“You doing okay, Kid?” Han asks.  
  
“I’m alright.”  
  
“Is this one of those Jedi things? Do you smell a disturbance; anything like that?”  
  
It actually cheers Luke up a little that Han thinks he can sense something. Luke gives half a smile and says, “I don’t sense any more trouble than we were we expecting.”  
  
“I hope it’s not any more trouble than you can handle, Kid. I’m going to need your head in the game down there.”  
  
“I know.” Luke shakes his head, trying to get Vader out of his thoughts. He has already committed to his decision to give up on his father. He wasn’t reconsidering, it was just hard to cope with. “I’m ready.”  
  
Once the doors were open, they descend a flight of stairs and make their way to a room with several control panels and a view of the machines that most likely powered the base and the shield.  
  
They blast a few stormtroopers before the remaining staff surrender. Han barks orders at the imperials to get in the corner. “Quickly, quickly,” he instructs.  
  
The rebels get to work planting the charges, but it isn’t long before Luke starts feeling something troubling and says, “Han . . . I’m getting ‘one of those Jedi things.’ I think they know we’re here.”  
  
Han is supposed to be the one in charge here, but Luke is the one with the feeling, so he asks, “Alright. How you think we should handle this?”  
  
“When they get here, don’t shot. Let me take care of it.”  
  
“You gonna give them their chance to let us go again?” Han asks.  
  
“Yep.”  
  
“Because that worked so well the last time.”  
  
Luke smirks. “We all got out of there alive, didn’t we?”  
  
“Fair enough, but what’s the plan when they don’t want to be friendly?”  
  
“Let me take care of that part, too,” Luke says, stretching in preparation for battle.  
  
“Nobody move!” demands an imperial officer as dozens of stormtroopers arrive, pointing their blasters at everyone. He doesn’t feel great about it, but Han puts his hands up, rolling his eyes all the while.  
  
Luke remains calm, standing with composure and keeping his hands together behind his back. “I’ll give you all one chance. Lower your weapons and leave,” says Luke unintimidated.  
  
The officer approaches him and says, “That’s enough. You don’t have . . .” His voice trails off as he realizes who he’s talking to. Despite having them surrounded, the officer is shaking at the sight of Luke Skywalker. This is quite a unexpected horror. The officer had been told specifically that Skywalker wouldn’t be here. “Get this man restrained,” the officer orders.  
  
“Are you rejecting my offer?” Luke asks.  
  
“Now!” the officer insists.  
  
“Are you rejecting my offer?” Luke repeats with heavier annunciation.  
  
The officer sweats profusely until he shouts, “Forget the restraints! Shoot him now!”  
  
Luke jumps over a few heads, igniting his green lightsaber as he soars. He lands in the middle of a group of stormtroopers. They are afraid that they might shot each other if they try to shot him. Luke takes advantage of that, cutting down everyone around him. Now that they’re desperate, they start firing, mostly hitting the dead bodies as they fall. Luke is running out of human-shields, but that’s okay because there aren’t enough stormtroopers left in the room to challenge him. The remaining stormtroopers fire at Luke, but he deflects their blaster bolts back at them without fail. The rebels are needlessly afraid that Luke might accidentally send blaster fire their way, but it never happens. Luke’s aim is perfect as usual.  
  
When the shooting stops, the rebels look around, astonished, at the many bodies and lack of harm done to any of their own.  
  
“There’s more of them outside,” Luke says. Luke turns toward the exit and holds his lightsaber with one hand. With his left hand he takes his blaster out of its holster and says, “I’ll let you know when I’m done.”  
  
The rebels gawk at Luke as he leaves until Ham reminds them that they’re here to plant the charges.  
  
Luke walks down the hallway, a lightsaber in his right hand and a blaster in his left hand. He knows Jedi are supposed to be keepers of the peace; which is part of the reason why he likes to try finding peaceful solutions. It’s worked a few times, which has given him enough justification to keep trying. But more often than not when fighting the Empire, he just has to drop the bodies.  
  
Luke ascends the stairs to the exit, seeing daylight coming from the doorway. Two stormtroopers find him there and raise their weapons. Luke raises both of his own weapons and shoot one of them while deflecting a bolt back at the other. Each stormtrooper tumbles down the stairs, passing Luke as he keeps ascending. The other stormtroopers must have heard that. They’ll be ready for trouble. But they won’t be ready for him.  
  
When he reaches the exit, he sees hundreds and hundreds of stormtroopers. They even have multiple AT-STs. This should be fun.  
  
Luke takes three fingers off his lightsaber, points with that hand and force-pulls a stormtrooper all the way to him. When the others start shoot, Luke keeps the stormtrooper floating in front of him, using him as a shield as he runs and shoots at the others. The floating stormtroopers takes dozens of blasts in Luke’s place until Luke makes it to a massive tree to hide behind. Twenty stormtroopers run to the tree. But when they reach the other side of the tree where they expected Luke to be, they don’t find him; they do however find a grenade which falls from above and blows up, taking out a hand full of them. Luke had been hiding on a very high branch.  
  
Luke jumps sideways off of the branch, flying out of his cover. As he falls, he shoots at the hordes of stormtroopers, hitting eight of them before landing gracefully with a roll.  
  
An AT-ST is not far from Luke now and has what should be a clear shot. Every time the AT-ST fires, Luke deflects the blasts, not back at the AT-ST, but at the groups of stormtroopers, creating explosions that kill or disorient many of them at a time.  
  
In time, the AT-ST stops firing. The pilots know how little they’re helping their side. This doesn’t mean Luke can’t use them anymore. Luke pulled back his hands, concentrating hard. And when he thrusts his hands forward, the AT-ST is sent hurtling backward, landing on multiple stormtroopers.  
  
Luke has created enough chaos to make the hordes of stormtroopers easier to manage. The explosions have left many of them disorganized or fleeing for cover. Luke runs around the battle field, shooting at far away targets on his way to larger groups which he cuts down. Luke kills many, many stormtroopers and only stops when a chilling laugh catches his ear.  
  
“Very good. Very good,” says a pleased, yet menacing voice. Luke also hears a slow clap as he turns to look at him. He is wearing an elaborate disguise, but somehow Luke senses who this Sith is.  
  
“You will make a fine apprentice,” says the Emperor confidently.  
  
Luke points his lightsaber at the Emperor and tells him, “I will not join you.”  
  
The Emperor replies calmly, “Not yet. That is only because you have yet to endure the suffering I have planned for you.”  
  
Luke fires at the Emperor, but he waves a hand and deflects the blast to the side, using only the Force. Then the Emperor produces two lightsabers from his belt and ignites their red blades. “In time, you will embrace the Dark Side like your father before you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Please comment and subscribe.


	3. A War of Individuals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm uploading a little early this time. Last time, I'm pretty sure I uploaded on Friday night. When I said there would be new chapters each Saturday, what I meant was I upload the chapters the night before so it will be ready on Saturday. But this time, I'm uploading even earlier than that. It's mostly because of inconvenient timing later tonight. So enjoy this slightly early chapter.

Luke knows the Sith before him is the Emperor despite the disguise. The Emperor keeps his status as a Sith lord a secret, so he has come wearing a grey, metal helmet with matching shoulder pads. He is not wearing a robe as usual, but he has a three sectioned cape over his lower body. His gloves each have metal blades on three of his fingers; including his thumbs. Luke has not spent much time so near to the Emperor, but he can somehow since this Sith’s significance.  
  
“What a grand event,” says the Emperor. “You were meant to be the rekindling of the Jedi and I am the perfection of the Sith. Our battle will be as the war between the Light Side and the Dark Side themselves. And we both know the Dark Side is stronger.”  
  
Luke replies, “I once asked a wise Jedi master if the Dark Side was stronger. He told me that the Dark Side is not more powerful, but is easy. I’ll just have to put in more effort than you; I do that every day.”  
  
Luke and the Emperor run at towards each other. Instead of engaging in the expected clash, Luke jumps high over the Emperor and shoots at him as he soars. The Emperor deflects each bolt, but Luke avoids the redirected fire. Once he lands, Luke shoots once again at the Emperor who deflects it right back at Luke who deflects it right back at the Emperor and so on and so on. They keep bouncing the shot back and forth with consistently accurate reflexes and lightning fast lightsaber positioning for a good seven seconds. Luke sees the futility and sends the shot off to the side. Luke knows the Emperor might be able to defend against blaster fire forever, so he holsters his blaster for now.  
  
Luke runs and leaps toward the Emperor. He swings at him as he lands, but the Emperor moves backwards, light on his feet; almost like a specter. The Emperor moves forward and their lightsabers clash for the first of many times. Fittingly, their styles are as day and night. The Emperor cackles as he fights, moving around to toy with him and swinging with a more playful and casual manner; it seems he doesn’t take Luke very seriously despite his prior speech. Luke, on the other hand, swings with ferocity and fire in his soul. He is disciplined and focused. Luke has only one lightsaber to match against the Emperor’s two, but he is able to keep up with him, often blocking both the Emperor’s blades at the same time. When he needs to, Luke can even block one blade and then move said blade into position to block the other.  
  
Many stormtroopers see the flashes of light, created by their clashing lightsabers. Some of they wonder if they should get involved or if they should let the Emperor do this himself, fear what would happen to them if they interfered in a battle between two such powerful forces. Some of them don’t even consider fighting and instead spend their time wondering who this mysterious Sith is. The night before, they had been told not to attack a Sith that was expected to arrive on the forest moon of Endor, but the details about him were nonexistent.  
  
Luke force-pushes the Emperor, sending him flying away. As the Emperor flips backwards through the air, he keeps a grin under that helmet. He lands on his feet and lifts his lowered head, only now losing that grin as he sees that Luke is already right in front of him despite how far the Emperor flew. Luke swings hard, taking advantage of his unprepared opponent. The Emperor barely manages to block each attack and is starting to lose his balance. Luke holds his lightsaber in only his left hand and pushes both the Emperor’s blades to the side and uses his right hand (his mechanical hand) to punch the Emperor in the head. The Emperor might be wearing a helmet, but it still hurt.  
  
The Emperor was having fun before, but now he’s getting angry. Instead of playing around any further, the Emperor attacks with everything he has, moving like lightning, the Emperor rushes around Luke, swinging from every angle.  
  
Against this onslaught of fury that tirelessly bombards him, Luke is . . . actually doing just fine. No matter how fast the Emperor moves, he can’t seem to find an opening in Luke’s defenses.  
  
“OPEN FIRE ON SKYWALKER!” the Emperor demands, his identity still protected by a voice magulator.  
  
Starting with the bravest among them, the stormtroopers shot at Luke, giving him a lot to manage. Luke keeps moving, struggling to both deflect blaster fire and guard against the Emperor. A shot grazes Luke’s shoulder, but he keeps fighting through the pain. Luke thinks this might be easier if he finds ways to make this two battles one. Luke locks blades with the Emperor and pushes one of his lightsabers in to position to deflect a shot back at a stormtrooper.  
  
After backing away from the Emperor, Luke reaches out, grabbing a stormtrooper with the force and throws him at the Emperor. Not about to be knocked over by one of his own troops, the Emperor slice the stormtrooper in two, letting the separated halves pass him by. Luke knew that would happen; that was the point. Some of the other stormtroopers are a lot less eager to help the Emperor, having just seen him cut one of them in half.  
  
Unfortunately, there are still others who are helping the Emperor. An AT-ST approaches and waits for a clean shot, not wanting to blast the Emperor with him. Luke runs between the legs of the AT-ST and, from the other side, force-pushes it, causing it to fall toward the Emperor. The Emperor uses the force to move the AT-ST to the left, causing it to land on its side and a short distance away from him.  
  
Luke points his hand at the AT-ST and seems to wrap his fingers around something that isn’t there. Luke makes a motion that looks like pulling trigger and the AT-ST shots, creating an explosion that knocks the Emperor down.  
  
With the Emperor temporarily out of action, Luke turns his attention to the remaining stormtroopers. He draws his blaster and starts shooting them.  
  
The Emperor leaps high and falls toward Luke with his lightsabers ready to hammer down on him. Luke blocks the attack just in time. Using only one hand, Luke can barely keep the lightsabers away from his face as the Emperor keeps pushing.  
  
BANG!  
  
The Emperor looks down in shock at the blast mark on his waist. Luke easily pushes the Emperor to the ground, taking advantage of his weakened state. He considers shooting him again, but he knows the Emperor might be ready to deflect this time. Luke holsters his blaster again and begins hammering his lightsaber down at the Emperor who blocks with dwindling strength. Luke is relentless as he strikes again and again, fury all over his face. Luke knocks one of the Emperor’s lightsabers to the side and raises his lightsaber, aiming for the Emperor’s wrist. But the Emperor is quick enough to enact his favorite ability. Lightning gushed out of his fingers. Luke holds his lightsaber horizontally to block the lightning, but it doesn’t absorb it all. A few strands of the lightning bite at Luke’s limbs, despite his defenses.  
  
It’s agonizing, but Luke has to stay strong and keep his lightsaber in place. This is not the time to break. This is the time to focus. Luke closes his eyes and the strands of lightning slowly become drawn solely to his lightsaber. No longer taking anymore lightning to his body, Luke channels the lightning to become an extension his lightsaber. Luke opens his eyes and fixes them on the Emperor. His lightsaber is cover in lightning which he intends to use against the Emperor. Now the Emperor feels fear. Now the Emperor knows that Luke has the power to finish him. But wait. . . .  
  
Oh no.  
  
Luke senses another danger, but he can’t do anything about it. If he takes either hand off his lightsaber, the lightning will overwhelm him.  
  
BANG!  
  
“AAAAHHH!” Luke can’t help breaking his focus. Whichever stormtrooper just shot Luke in the back saved the Emperor’s life. Lightning spreads to all over Luke’s body, giving him more pain than he has ever felt before. Luke’s lightsaber deactivates as it falls out of his hands. The Emperor force-pulls the lightsaber to fly into his hand. Luke falls while the Emperor slowly rises.  
  
The Emperor comes closer, clutching the wound in his waist. “You have fought will, young Skywalker; better than expected.” The Emperor erupts with more lightning as an additional punishment. When he stops, Luke lays defeated as smoke drifts from his body. “You may become my greatest apprentice.”  
  
“You . . . have failed,” Luke grunts defiantly. “You have failed and I have succeeded.”  
  
“You are the one tastes defeat, boy.”  
  
“No. . . . You came here to make me your apprentice and you have failed. I came here to destroy the shield generator . . .”  
  
A group of rebels run out of the bunker and short moments later . . . BOOM! The shield generator along with the imperial base explodes, filling the sky with fire.  
  
“And I have succeeded,” Luke says.  
  
The Emperor scowls under his helmet as he stares at Luke. Luke is harder to break than he realized.  
  
The rebels’ first thought is that they might need to surrender to the surrounding stormtroopers. BUT WHAT’S THIS?!  
  
Ewoks by the hundreds shout their war cries which are either adorable or annoying. These small balls of fur are armed with tiny spears and bows. They’re actually allot more dangerous then they sound. (Especially when they’re fighting stormtroopers who can barely shot full sized targets.)  
  
Under different circumstances, the Emperor would like to kidnap Luke’s friends to use against him, but he is tired and wounded, so he decides to just take Luke and leave. The Emperor uses the force to cast Luke’s blaster to the side and turns around. He force pulls Luke by the leg and walks off, dragging him behind.  
  
Han and Leia shoot at stormtroopers from behind the cover of a tree. “I thought Luke would have taken care of this by now,” says Leia who had fought more battle with Luke than Han had.  
  
“Where is he anyway?” Han looks around the battlefield and just barely sees the Emperor dragging him away. “LUKE!” he yells, horrified. “Leia, cover me!”  
  
“What are you doing?” she asks with wide eyes, having an idea of exactly what he’s going to do.  
  
Instead of answering her, Han runs; he runs as fast as he can, avoiding enemy fire thanks to Leia shooting wildly at stormtroopers to keep them behind cover; that and the general chaos happening all around them. The ewoks are slaughtering the stormtroopers surprisingly well. They jab spears in the openings of their armor, used gliders to drop rocks on them from above, set off traps to destroy AT-ST and more. And thanks to Luke, their numbers were already weakened significantly.  
  
Han shoots every stormtrooper in his path as he runs through the forest. “LUKE!” he shouts desperately. Han couldn’t let the Emperor take Luke; especially not after everything Luke did to save him.  
  
In his haste, Han falls down a steep path and lands in sight of a cowering stormtrooper who hides from the battle behind a mound of dirt. The stormtrooper fumbles for his weapon, but Han is quicker and shoots him in time.  
  
Han gets back up as fast as he can and keeps running. THERE THEY ARE! Han sees the Emperor dragging Luke toward an imperial landing craft. Han is about to aim his blaster at the Emperor when, suddenly, Luke force-pushes Han just hard enough to knock him down. “Did Luke do that?” Han wonders. He quietly gets back up and looks at them. The Emperor doesn’t see him, but Luke knows that he would sense danger if Han would become a threat. Luke also knows that the Emperor could easily kill Han if he tried to interfere. While still being dragged off, Luke shakes his head at Han and manages to put a finger to his lips.  
  
Han can’t believe what he’s seeing. Is Luke really telling him not to try a rescue? “Maybe he just wants me to do it quietly,” Han reasons. Han starts lifting his blaster, about to aim at the Emperor, but he feels an invisible push that gently moves his arm downward. Again, Luke shakes his head at Han.  
  
Han swallows hard and his eyes tear up. There’s no doubt now. Luke wants Han to let him go and save himself. Han can’t stand the sight of watching the Emperor dragging Luke into his ship, but there’s nothing he can do to stop it and he can’t look away.  
  
The sounds of engines turning on have never hurt as much as they do now. Han watches helplessly as the Emperor flies off in his ship, taking Luke with him.  
  
The Emperor says to Luke, “You think I didn’t know, but I could sense it all. You chose not to let your friend help you. It seems you have lost hope already.”  
  
“No. Today, I’ve have kept hope alive. You saw that explosion. Wait till you see the big one.”  
  
The Emperor worries that there is truth in Luke’s words. He looks through the ships window at the Death Star which now has no shield generator to-  
  
There’s a quick flash and then BOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The whole thing explodes in a glorious blaze and a ring of fire emanates around the whole thing.  
  
Luke says to the Emperor, “You’re so obsessed with individuals, but you don’t see the big picture. You only care about yourself, you think the key to victory is a single apprentice, you think your only threat is one man with a lightsaber. That is why you fail. What the Rebellion has done today took the combined efforts of hundreds of people, fighting for the freedom of the entire galaxy. You didn’t see that each of those people are individuals, too. You were a fool to think beating me meant winning the war. And you were even more of a fool to think I would join you.”  
  
“SILENCE!” the Emperor demand, sending more lightning to torment Luke. In time, he stops, not wanting Luke to die here.  
  
Luke knows there is more torment to come. But he will not let it break him.

  
  
Ahsoka passes back and forth outside the cave on Rezlice. She didn’t sleep much last night; she was too excited and too nervous. One second she’s thinking, “Hooray! I have my master back! We’ll make up for lost time and fights the Empire together! It will be just like the Clone Wars!” and the next seconds she thinks, “What if this is a trick?! He might still want to kill me and I just told him where I am! What do I do when he gets here? Should I keep my hands on my lightsabers? Should I make sure I have a clear path to run away?”  
  
Ahsoka tells herself out loud, “Get a grip, Ahsoka. You could sense the light coming back to him. You know you got through to Anakin.” Ahsoka had been thinking a lot about the conversation she had with Darth Vader last night. Ahsoka can see that she probably never could have turned him if it hadn’t been for the fact that Vader wanted to join his son. (That explains why he would even listen to her.) She knows she should just be happy that he turned at all, but she can’t help but wish he would have come back just for her. Ahsoka and Anakin used to be so close back in the day. She would have hoped that everything she had done for him would have been enough for him to have anything but hate for her. Not just him; Ahsoka had always been there for Padme when she needed her. . . . Until Ahsoka left the Jedi order, of course.  
  
Ahsoka wonders what the next step will even look like. She doesn’t know if Vader can join the Rebellion. Back when she choose to contact Vader, she didn’t actually think she’d get this far.  
  
Ahsoka remembers thinking this wasn’t going to work. The mentality was basically, “I should at least try. And when it inevitably fails, I can at least know I tried.” So she was surprised she still had a strong enough connection to even talk to him. Having him agree to join her was like putting on a blind fold, spinning around ten times, pointing a blaster in a random direction, and ending up hitting a womp rat half a parsec away. Success just didn’t feel like a possibility. And yet, here she is, wondering when, not if, he will arrive and having not a single clue what she’s going to do when he gets here.  
  
“At least I have plenty of time to decide. He won’t be here for anotherrrrrrrrrrrr-”  
  
This didn’t feel possible either, but here it is. She spots an imperial landing craft coming her way and has one guess who’s on board.  
  
“How did he get here so fast? Even traveling at light speed, he would have had to pilot the ship all night.” It clicks in her head that that really isn’t farfetched. “Maybe he IS more machine than man.”  
  
The imperial landing craft lands near the cave. The ramp lowers and Darth Vader walks out, taking a look at his surroundings. He has never been to Rezlice before. This planet has an interesting look to it. The terrain is made out a type of gravel that is green when in direct sunlight and red when in the shadows. Here and there are flowers which strangely have their pedals at the bottom of the stem. He had seen on the way to the surface that Rezlice has five moons; though they are not clumped together. The moons of Rezlice are positioned all around the planets orbit, so that it is never impossible to see at least one of them no matter the place or time of day. Right now, Vader can see two moons; one crescent, one full. But the gravel, flowers and moons are not the most beautiful sight here.  
  
Vader had seen Ahsoka in her new outfit before, but she looks even better in person. She prefers to wear white these days. This particular outfit has a few blue stripes to match her montrals. Her gloves cover everything from her fingers to her elbows, leaving her shoulders and biceps uncovered. Similarly, her leggings start at her feet inside her shoes and go up to her knees, leaving her thighs uncovered. She has something like a miniskirt, but it only exists at the back and the front. In the middle of her top is a long, crystal-shaped cutout that displays a good amount of her abs and chest.  
  
Ahsoka is ever more nervous to see him as she walks his way. She can feel her hands preparing themselves to jump to the lightsabers on each side of her belt, but she tries not to look like she’s ready for trouble. Vader and Ahsoka stop when they are close enough, but still out of arms’ length. They both struggle to say something. Vader can sense her fear and he doesn’t blame her for having it. “Perhaps it would put your mind at ease . . .” Vader slowly takes his lightsaber off of his belt and offers it to her while saying, “if you would hold on to this for the time being.”  
  
That was all Ahsoka needed. Seeing him offer to let her take his lightsaber almost made her angry with herself for being ready to ignite her own. She gets misty eyed and looks at Vader like she was just now realizing he was alive. She doesn’t take his lightsaber. Instead she says in a chocked up voice, “I trust you,” and she runs into a huge with him.  
  
Vader’s thick suit makes it hard to physically feel parts of her embrace. When the sides of their heads come together he can’t feel it and all Ahsoka feels his cold, metal helmet. But it still warms Vader’s heart, even if only because he knows what she’s doing. At least his hands can feel her back. Yes, they’re both mechanical hands, but they’re built to feel.  
  
Ahsoka barely cares that there was so much machinery. She doesn’t mind the sound his suit makes as it helps him breathe. She is just happy to have him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might be wondering if the Emperor's disguise and Ahsoka's new outfit are canon. There not, but they're inspired by existing material. The Emperor's disguise is actually a reference to something in legends. I'm curious if anyone can name what that suit was from and who wore it.
> 
> Ahsoka's outfit was something I made up. I certainly took inspiration from her previous outfits from canon, though. Her various outfits in canon usually don't cover her shoulders just like this one. The crystal shaped cutout is kind of like an extension of the cutout from her second outfit from the Clone Wars. The fact that she's wearing white is taken from the epilogue in Star Wars: Rebels. You may have caught on to how the narration said she prefers to wear white these days and that this particular outfit has blue stripes. The implication is meant to be that she might still have that white robe from the epilogue in Rebels; she's just not wearing it right now. However, I reserve the right to say she doesn't have that robe in this timeline if I feel the need. We don't actually know what that robe is about yet, and, for all I know, it might conflict with this story in some way.
> 
> Now, let's talk about Luke. I thinks it can be debated either way whether or not I made him more powerful than he is in canon. My logic was that if he's the last hope for the Jedi, he'd BETTER be able to do this stuff. Remember that, in Return of the Jedi, Luke beat Darth Vader in a duel. Even if Vader had an excuse like "I wasn't trying as hard" or "He caught me off guard" that still makes Luke sound pretty powerful. When I first wrote the synopsis for this story, I originally wrote that the Emperor beat him far and square, but I changed my mind. Obviously, what ended up happening was Luke almost had him and only lost because the stormtrooper interfered.
> 
> The question now is, "What's going to happen to Luke now that he's been captured?" Weeeeell . . .
> 
> Did I ever tell you of the tragedy of the inquisitors?
> 
> Let's just hope Luke can stay strong for long enough.


	4. The Facility

“So, what do we do now?” Ahsoka asks. “We need to convince the Rebellion you’re on their side, but that’s gonna be hard to swallow.  
  
“Yes, most everyone will believe I am still aligned with the Empire. We will use that to our advantage.”  
  
“Ah, you want to go undercover.”  
  
“We must act quickly. The Emperor knows I have abandoned him. It is only a matter of time before the entirety of Empire knows of my betrayal.”  
  
“Will he? You’ve pretended to like the guy for years and he never knew you wanted to get rid of him. What’s different this time?”  
  
“The Emperor knows I left the forest moon of Endor against his instructions. He will suspect that Luke has turned me as you have. I realize that you think the logical approach is to speak with the Emperor and fabricate a false explanation. But . . . the Emperor is very perceptive. He knows many things through his connection to the Force. If I meet with him, he will feel the difference. I suspect he may have known of my disloyalty, but chose to ignore it, thinking our interests still benefited the other’s. But now I have aligned with Light Side and for that, the Emperor will have no tolerance,” Vader says. At least he hopes he has truly connected with the Light Side. “I may no longer have the Emperor’s trust, but, fortunately, I still have his information. Do you know what happened to the Separatists’ droid army at the end of the Clone Wars?”  
  
Ahsoka answers, “Sure. A shut down signal was sent out and it was over just like that.”  
  
“But where the deactivated droids were taken has been a closely kept secret.”  
  
“But they were dismantled; weren’t they?”  
  
“The Separatists’ army consisted of quintillions of battle droids. The truth is, that there were too many to all share the same fate. Billions of battle droids have been taken to facility in case they can one day be useful.”  
  
“If the Emperor has so many battle droids, why hasn’t he used them against the Rebellion?”  
  
“He never believed there was any need. He underestimates the Rebellion. The Emperor also thinks that their use would be costly the Empire’s reputation. The Emperor only meant for the droids to be reactivated in case of a state of extreme crisis.”  
  
“If the Rebellion takes out the Death Star, the Empire might be in one of those,” Ahsoka reasons.  
  
“But we can reach them first.”  
  
“That sounds like a weird concept; having the tinnies on our side. It’s a shame that they won’t be very helpful. You know how dumb those things were.”  
  
“What if I told you the battle droids’ ineffective programing was by design and that programing could be overwritten?”  
  
Ahsoka needs a second, but she works out in her head what Vader is talking about. “You told me that the Emperor controlled both sides. So the Emperor made sure they weren’t smart enough to actually win.”  
  
Vader explains, “And in this facility, they are connected to computer that could reprogram them and thus increase their efficiency in battle.”  
  
“So, that’s our plan then; go to this secret facility, find the droids, and hand over billions of new troops to the Rebellion. Anakin . . . if this all works out, it might win the war for us.”  
  
“Then we must not waste this opportunity.”  
  
Vader starts walking back to his ship, but Ahsoka stops him by suggesting, “How about we take my ship.”  
  
“My ship will help my cover.”  
  
“But I don’t know your ship as well as mine. And I really should be the pilot since you clearly didn’t sleep last night. . . . Also, if they see that ship coming, they’ll wonder why the tracking device isn’t working.”  
  
“The tracking device,” Vader repeats, realizing she was right.  
  
“Wait . . . you did deactivate the tracking device, didn’t you?” Ahsoka says with increasing panic.  
  
“I did. I was simply failed to realize they would notice,” Vader explains, knowing the reason he wasn’t thinking clearly was because his mind was still distracted.  
“You see? You’re too tired. We’ll take my ship and I’ll do the flying. We’ll land without being spotted and take a speeder to the facility. I just need you to tell me where we’re going; then you can take a nap.”  
  
That word weighs Vader down. That nap isn’t going to be as easy as advertised.  
  
“Where is your ship?” Vader asks.

  
  
Ahsoka’s red and white ship is shaped like one giant wing. It was extended horizontal when Ahsoka led Vader to it, but after it took off, most of the ship shifted, pointing its ends vertically while the center of the ship stayed upright.  
  
Vader had been on many life and death mission that were easier than taking a nap today. His suit is hard to sleep in without a meditation chamber. He would be more concerned that his condition will be much harder without the Empire’s resources to give him maintenance if it wasn’t for the fact that much of his condition was by design. The Emperor had always denied him treatments that would have made him more comfortable. The idea was that pain strengthens one’s connection to the Dark Side; that or the Emperor is just cruel. Now that he doesn’t need pain feeding his darkness, maybe he can find a way to make improvements to his suit.  
  
When Vader finally gets some sleep, he makes the mistake of dreaming.  
  
“LUKE!” Vader shouts, waking up from his sleep. He doesn’t know how long he was asleep and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to dream any longer. It’s time to get up. Vader makes his way to the cockpit and finds Ahsoka in the pilot seat. She can easily hear his heavy footsteps and his suit’s respirator.  
  
“You okay? I heard you shouting.”  
  
Vader takes a seat beside her and says, “I dreamed of my son being burned as I was and placed in a suit like mine.”  
  
“Do you think this is a vision?” Ahsoka asks concernedly.  
  
“No. Luke has severed our connection. I would not receive a vision of him.”  
  
“He’ll come around,” Ahsoka says. Vader notices the uncertainty in her voice. As much as he appreciates her efforts, he can’t help but think he would be better off had she said nothing.  
  
“Why did you reach out to me?”  
  
Ahsoka replies solemnly, “In a way, you did the same thing for me.”  
  
“You never turned to the Dark Side.”  
  
“That’s not what I meant. All those years ago, when I was framed for murder, you proved my innocence and saved my life. You and Padme were the only ones who didn’t give up on me. When everyone else thought I was lost to the Dark Side, you knew better. So when I found that cave, I couldn’t justify not trying.”  
  
“Yes, you could have,” Vader argues. “After everything I’ve done, you had every right to give up on me. Luke also has every right to assume the worst, and he has no such fond memories of me. Frankly, Ahsoka, I don’t think you would have come of you knew everything I’ve done.”  
  
“I know enough. I know you helped eradicate the Jedi.”  
  
“Do you know that I’ve killed children?”  
  
“I . . . I was afraid of that.”  
  
“Do you know I helped defend a space station that destroyed an entire planet?”  
  
“I do. But you were-”  
  
“Do you know . . . that I killed Obi Wan?”  
  
Ahsoka sighs through her nose. She looks at him with watery eyes. “I know.”  
  
Vader is stunned. How she could have known that is beyond him. But that’s a topic for another time.  
  
Ahsoka tells Vader, “Obi-Wan didn’t believe in revenge. I think if he knew you were trying to help the Rebellion, he would want the best for you.”  
  
“If you what I did, then how could you think there was good in me?”  
  
“Because I’ve already seen it. I know you have a lot to feel guilty about, but you can’t forget all the good you did before. You saved my life over and over again. You cared about people you had just met. You were a hero! That’s who you really are. That’s who Luke is going see when he looks at you.”  
  
Vader tries to let that comfort him. But he wants more certainty that everything will be alright. “Ahsoka, I need you to promise me something.”  
  
“What’s that?” she asks, suspecting something.  
  
“If I cannot gain Luke’s forgiveness, and if I begin to drift back to the Dark Side, I need you to-”  
  
“I’m not going to kill you, Anakin!” Ahsoka shouts. “You won’t turn back! I won’t let you.”  
  
“That is what I’m counting on. Promise me that if comes to killing me or letting me turn back to my evil ways-”  
  
“It won’t come to that.”  
  
“Ahsoka, I need this,” Vader pleads.  
  
Ahsoka looks at him with a hurt expression. She doesn’t want to think about losing him again. But if he really needs this . . . “Alright. If killing you is the only way, I’ll do it. I promise.”  
  
“I knew I could count on you, Ahsoka,” Vader says gratefully.  
  
“Just try to be more optimistic,” Ahsoka pleads. “For me?”  
  
How can he refuse when she asks him like that? “I do owe you that much. Luke will see my turn is true. I shall prove where my loyalties lie.”  
  
“Now, that’s better.”

  
  
They landed on the planet Drakorm, far enough away from the facility to not be detected. Thankfully, Ahsoka has a speeder which they used to get most of the way there, making plans as they rode. They went the rest of the way on foot and split up, taking comlinks with them.  
  
The facility itself is massive. Most of the facility is actually underground, so when they see it outside, they are only getting some of the full picture. And the portion above ground is massive on its own. Multiple separatist dreadnaughts are latched in all around the exterior. Thankfully, the facility has many elevators and moving platforms; otherwise, getting anywhere would take forever.  
  
Once inside, Vader finds that there are deactivated battle droids lined up along most of the wall. This place is meant to hold as many of them as possible; that means taking advantage of every place they can be put. In some rooms, there are battle droids hanging from the ceilings. An odd thing is that most of them still have their weapons; it was just easy to let them hold them then sort them into separate locations. More than just droids and blasters, there are separatist tanks, speeders, ships, and pretty much everything else one would need for their own person droid army. It isn’t common, but some places even have droids or speeders placed in sloppy piles. The imperials care little if a few of them get scratched up in the piles. The facility has droids to spare and this collection exists as an unlikely to be called upon last result anyway. Vader can recognize the separatist architecture. Either this place was originally built as a separatist base before it was claimed by the Empire, or the Empire built it to look separatist so they could deny having anything to do with it. Now that he thinks about it, there is a lack of imperial symbols which gives credence to either explanation.  
  
Everyone is surprised to see Darth Vader walking down the halls. They were never told he was coming. As Vader walks, he tries to stay in character, acting like nothing has changed. He gives the guards and workers cold glares as if he might force-choke them if they breathe incorrectly. “You,” he says, pointing at a random stormtrooper.  
  
The stormtrooper nervously replies, “Yes, Lord Va-”  
  
Not even letting him finish a three-word-sentence, Vader commands, “Take me to your commanding officer.”  
  
“Yes, Lord Vader,” says the stormtrooper, not daring to say anything else.  
  
As soon as Vader finds the man in charge of the facility, Vader says before he can even greet him, “I have orders from the Emperor himself. This entire facility is to be evacuated immediately.”  
  
“What? Why would the Emperor send you to tell me this personally?”  
  
“Because I am to be the only person who will remain here. All other details are not for you to know.” His high and mighty attitude and unwillingness to share information are actually perfect for keeping up appearances. No one suspected that he was acting out of the ordinary.  
  
“Not for me to know? This is my facility and I refused to be removed from it without an explanation.”  
  
Oh great. This one has a spine.  
  
“Listen to me, Commander. I-”  
  
“Admiral Valum,” he corrects.  
  
The guards looked at each other, wondering if they really just heard him interrupt Darth Vader.  
  
“Listen to me,” Vader says, frustrated, but not very aggressive. “The Emperor was very specific in his instruction. There is to be no one in this facility but myself by tomorrow.”  
  
The guards can’t believe what they’re seeing. Someone gave Darth Vader backtalk and isn’t receiving death for it? Vader’s act is starting to show cracks.  
  
Of course Admiral Valum just hast to make things even more difficult, doesn’t he? “If the Emperor truly wishes for such an outrageous idea, he can tell me that himself. The Post-Separatist Holding Facility requires guarding at all times.”  
  
As Valum goes on and on, Vader turns his back to him and sighs in frustration. He thinks to himself, “One. Last. Time.”  
  
Valum’s speech stops as he suddenly starts choking. He clutches his neck and tries desperately to breathe in vain.  
  
“I do not appreciate your insubordination,” Vader says so coldly.  
  
Any suspicious the observing stormtroopers had of Vader acting out of the ordinary are instantly crushed. This is the Vader they know.  
  
“Do you question my authority?”  
  
Valum begrudgingly shakes his head; though he looks more agitated than intimidated. That simply won’t do.  
  
“I have come on the Emperor’s behalf! I expect that to be obeyed!”  
  
Valum falls to his knees, yet he still has the countenance of an unbroken man. He fights to get a little air through his lungs and chokes out the words, “We . . . will evacuate.”  
  
Vader releases Valum from his force-choking and he gasps for breath. “You have twelve hours,” Vader warns. “I will not speak of this matter again.”  
  
Vader walks out of the room without another word. As soon as the doors close, a lower officer approaches Valum and asks, “Shall we begin preparations?”  
  
“No,” Valum grunts getting back onto his feet. “We will start loading some of our equipment onto the star destroyer. For now, we are going to make it look like we’re doing what he wants. In the meantime, I will contact the Emperor.”

So much pain.  
  
Luke screams in agony as he’s electrocuted by the machine over and over again. The Emperor watches with glee, finding that torture is far more fun when he doesn’t need questions answered.  
  
The table Luke is restrained on pulls back, giving him a temporary respite from the particular form of torture. Luke catches his breath and gives the Emperor a defiant look. “I don’t know how many fallen Jedi you’ve turned this way. But I won’t the next. I’ll never turn to the Dark Side! I’LL NEVER JOIN YOU!”  
  
“You hate me, don’t you . . . ? Good. Very good.”  
  
“Giving into hate leads to the Dark Side. When I kill you . . . it won’t be out of hate. I’ll be thinking of my friends and how much better off they’ll be without you. I am a Jedi. You are powerless to take that away from me.”  
  
The Emperor cackles at him and says, “They were all Jedi; Vader, the inquisitors, my former apprentice, Count Dooku. You will prove to be nothing special.”  
  
Luke exhales weakly. His breath slowly morphs in weak laughter. “Yesterday, you were saying I was as the Light Side itself. I think you need to get your story straight.”  
  
The Emperor scowls at Luke. He had not expected him to be so resilient. He might have called it a lost cause by now if Vader’s betrayal hadn’t left him so desperate for a new apprentice. Luke had sensed the Emperor’s desperation and has been laughing at him on the inside ever since. Luke doesn’t know why that desperation exists, but he knows the Emperor won’t kill him or cripple him.  
  
The Emperor walks over to a control panel, planning to call a droid with an alternative form of torture. But he is interrupted by opening doors that welcome an officer into the room. The Emperor is nauseated to be interrupted during the torture of Luke Skywalker, but he knows he can’t lash out in this situation. Normally, he would have given strict orders not to disturb him, but the destruction of the Death Star has left the Empire in a state of panic and the Emperor is required to juggle responsibilities whether he wants to or not. “What is it?” the Emperor asks with as little venom as possible.  
  
The officer stands perpendicular to the torture chair and says to the Emperor, “I shouldn’t say what has brought me here in front of the prisoner.  
  
“Speak freely,” the Emperor encourages. “Skywalker will be no one to keep secrets from in time.”  
  
The officer is unsure about this, but he wishes not to upset the Emperor.  
  
Luke can see how distraught the officer is and acts quickly to take advantage of that. He checks and sees that the Emperor has his back turned to officer. Luke concentrates on the cylinder in the officer’s pocket and uses the force to will it to slowly rise out. Luke is careful not to let the currently distracted officer notice as he moves the cylinder down and sets it down on the floor under a console.  
  
The officer explains, “We have received a transmission from the Post-Separatist Holding Facility. Admiral Valum wishes to speak with you about Darth Vader.”  
  
Admiral Valum and Darth Vader; those are two names the Emperor can’t afford to ignore. Especially now; especially, especially when they’re mentioned in the same breath. “I’m coming,” the Emperor tells the officer. He turns to Luke and says, “We will continue this shortly.”  
  
Luke thinks, “That depends on how far this cylinder will get me.” Luke knows what those imperial cylinders are for; they’re used to open doors.  
  
Once the Emperor is gone, Luke uses the force to make the cylinder fly out from under the console and float near the torture chair. Really, this first part could be done with any small object, but the Emperor had meticulously made sure there isn’t anything else in the room he could use to press the bottom on the side of the chair. But now that Luke has the cylinder, that’s exactly what he does. The restraints pop off of Luke’s limbs, freeing him from the chair. His body is aching and his strength is little. Maybe he can’t make it all the way out of here in his current state, but can at least get some information before the Emperor comes back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case your mind is going crazy, trying to figure out what Admiral Valum is from, he's actually OC. While we're talking about stuff I made up, Rezlice and Drakorm are both planets I made up. The Post-Separatist Holding is, as far as I know, not something that exists in canon. It does make sense for it to be canon, but I've never heard of something like this.


	5. Pretending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earlier today, I watched the episode of the Mandalorian season 2 with Ahsoka in it. I liked most of it, but there was a few things that bothered me. I'm going to talk spoilers for that episode in this author's note, but not the rest of the chapter.
> 
> Are you ready?
> 
> OK.
> 
> The fact that Ahsoka thinks attachments lead to the Dark Side is dumb. She left the order; she should know how dumb their rules were. And I hate how she says, "I've seen it before." First of all, how would she know Anakin's attachment to Padme had anything to do with his fall to the Dark Side? Second of all, Anakin was not turned because he had attachments; he was turned because he couldn't talk to the Jedi about those attachments. Third of all, people need human connections with other people to not be miserable so why are we acting like there's any argument to be made for this foolishness?! And why would they have Ahsoka of ALL people say something so in tune with the dogmatic views of the Jedi order when she made such a big deal about not being a Jedi anymore?! THIS WAS A MISTAKE!
> 
> Let's just say that the Ahsoka from the Star Wars: The Unending timeline does not share that opinion. In fact, I'm not going to make any effort to make this Ahsoka consistent with what happened in that episode.
> 
> Wait. I just realized that the Mandalorian called her a Jedi and she didn't deny it. Do you think she considers herself a Jedi again?
> 
> As for her look, uuuummm. Her montrals don't look that great. The blue stripes aren't shaped as well and I think they're kind of faded. Also, the tops of her montrals are shorter than they used to be in Rebels. Though, her makeup is pretty good. They were right to make her eyes blue for the sake of consistency, but I just wish they looked more natural.
> 
> I can't really complain about the casting choice. She did a good job, it's just hard to accept a voice so different from Ashley's.
> 
> But other than that, the episode was pretty good.

Luke can barely walk. But he makes it to the door and opens it using the imperial cylinder he snuck off of that officer. Luke finds it strange that there are no guards posted outside the door. He thought he’d have to deal with at least two immediately. Luke realizes the reason is because the Emperor doesn’t want anyone to overhear him talking about the Dark Side. The Emperor still doesn’t want anyone to know he’s a Sith lord.  
  
“Halt!” says a stormtrooper who happened to be in the right place at the right time.  
  
Fortunately for Luke, there’s only one. Luke slowly waves his hand from left to right and says, “You have caught me. You are very vigilant.”  
  
“I have caught you. I am very vigilant,” says the stormtrooper, not realizing what Luke is doing with his mind.  
  
“You will take me back to my cell.”  
  
“I will take you back to your cell.”  
  
“My cell is that way.”  
  
“Your cell is that way,” the stormtrooper says, pointing in a direction completely different from the way Luke came. “Come with me.”  
  
Luke walks in front of the Stormtrooper with his hands behind his back, pretending his wrists are bound. The few people that see Luke walking around are fooled into thinking the stormtrooper has him under control. In no time, they find windows.  
  
Luke can tell from the grand buildings and lanes of flying speeders which planet this. “Coruscant,” Luke whispers. “So that’s where we are.” They keep walking as Luke studies the environment, figuring out exactly where this is. “Got it.” Luke knows where he is. Now he just hast to plan his escape. Luke sees that the military has a strong presence in this city. AT-ATs stand near the building. Tie fighters patrol the skies. Stormtroopers keep a close watch on the citizens. Star destroyers hover above motionlessly. This city wasn’t inhabited by this much of a prominent military presence before. Luke pieces together what they’re doing here pretty quickly. With the Death Star destroyed, the Emperor wants to keep a tight grip on Coruscant more than any other planet; because this is where the politicians are. The Emperor wants to show some power and make sure no one considers a change of leadership. The only confusing thing is that the Death Star was destroyed just yesterday. Luke tells the stormtrooper, “You have set up your military force very quickly.”  
  
“We knew what we were doing. The Empire was ready for this. They talked us through protocols a long time ago in case we needed to keep the city under control.”  
  
“So it’s just this city that you have locked down,” Luke says. If Luke wasn’t sure if he knew exactly which city he was in before, he is now. But escaping is going to be tricky with all this security. Getting himself out of the building would be hard, but comparatively the easy part. If he could get to the door, he would be met by the legions of infantry right outside. On top of that, Luke is aching from the torture. And he’s alone. And there probably aren’t any other prisoners in a place like this to work with. And he doesn’t have his lightsaber. And the Emperor is still armed and able. Luke needs help. If he could send out a transmission, he could get a hold of the Rebel Alliance and tell them where to find the Emperor. But there’s little hope of doing that now. The only reason the Emperor is not currently torturing Luke is because he is using the nearest equipment that could be used for sending transmissions. At the least, Luke can find that equipment in case he needs to use it later. Luke tricks the stormtrooper into showing him the way to the equipment. When they’re close enough, Luke tells him, “I know the way back to my cell from here.”  
  
“You know the way back to your cell from here.”  
  
“You’ve done well. There is no need to inform anyone that you caught me escaping.”  
  
“I’ve done well. There’s no need to inform anyone that I caught you escaping.”  
  
Luke comes a little closer, without being seen, to the room where the Emperor is communicating with Admiral Valum. The door is open and he can hear them talking.  
  
“He told you that I sent him?” asks the Emperor.  
  
“Yes, my lord.”  
  
“He lies. Darth Vader has betrayed the Empire.”  
  
Luke eyes pop wide open. Did he hear that right? The idea of his father turning away from the Emperor feels too good to be true. Luke listens even harder than before, hoping to find confirmation of this wonderful concept.  
  
“Betrayed the Empire?” Admiral Valum asks, astonished.  
  
The Emperor explains, “The last I heard of Vader, he left the forest moon of Endor without informing me. I believe that Vader has gone to join Luke Skywalker.”  
Luke puts a hand over his gaping mouth. If this is true, it changes everything.  
  
The Emperor says, “I will have someone send reinforcements to deal with Vader. But I must return to Luke Skywalker soon.”  
  
That means Luke hast to get back to the torture room soon or else the Emperor will know he’s up to something.  
  
Luke is careful not to be seen as he makes his way back. He returns to the room, wishing he didn’t have to. He gets back in the torture chair and, using the force, he pushes the button with the cylinder to clamp the restraints back on.  
  
Since it worked the first time, Luke hides the cylinder under the console. Hopefully it will come in handy next time he gets a chance to stretch his legs. All in all, this reconnaissance mission went alright. He may not be close to escaping, but he knows more than he had earlier. He knows what city he’s in, he knows where to contact someone, and he knows that his father is no longer aligned with the Empire.  
  
Luke doesn’t even know what he should be feeling. Should he be doubtful that it’s true? Should he be happy that it is? Or should he feel guilty that he didn’t come to him. He had thought Vader might be beyond hope, but he was wrong. He could have spoken with him. They might have fought the Emperor together. Luke can’t stop wondering what could have happened if he’d went to Vader.  
  
Suddenly, Luke hears voices in his mind.  
  
“Luke, help me take this mask off.”  
  
“But you’ll die.”  
  
“Nothing can stop that now.”  
  
Luke’s mind is spinning, trying to figure out what that was. Perhaps it was a vision of what might have happened. Those voices were brief, but it sounded like Vader and Luke were on the same side. Would Vader have died if Luke confronted him and turned him to the light? Luke is certain now that he could joined with Vader in the light. But he is not sure if Vader has truly turned to the light. Luke isn’t sure if things will end up better or worse because he did not go to him.  
  
The doors open and the Emperor returns. “I sense you feel conflicted.”  
  
Sure. He can know that much. Luke just won’t let the Emperor know what he’s conflicted about.

  
  
Beside the Post-Separatist Holding Facility is a star destroyer. It seems a little derivative when you see it with all the dreadnaughts. But the stormtroopers need something none-separatist to fly around in.  
  
Ahsoka plants a bomb on a reactor. That was the last bomb she needed to place on the star destroyer. She just needs everyone to get on board and push the button. That’s the plan, anyway. Ahsoka was the one to come up with the idea. When she told it to Vader, he instantly agreed to it. And yet, Ahsoka couldn’t help but notice that Vader had mixed feelings about it. Ahsoka can guess why without being told. She can see Vader has some sympathy for those tricked into following the Emperor. Ahsoka views it as a good, if not ironic, sign. The old Vader wouldn’t have cared how many stormtroopers died on any given star destroyer. That actually gave Ahsoka something to think about. A cycle ago, Ahsoka wouldn’t have cared either; now she’s also wondering how many of the stormtroopers really deserve death. Sure there are plenty of people in the Empire that are pure evil. But many of the officials working for the Empire had previously worked for the Republic. Maybe some of them just . . . think they still are.  
  
Not that Ahsoka is going to deactivate any of the bombs. As Ahsoka sneaks her way out, she thinks about how Vader didn’t object to the plan despite him not liking it. It appears that Vader thinks Ahsoka knows better than him. Ahsoka wishes she could be flattered, but she had been hoping to have the old Anakin back. The old Anakin never would have thought she knew better than him.  
  
Ahsoka makes it outside easily enough. There is not many stormtroopers on board the star destroyer; just a few dozen to load in equipment. It looks like they’re preparing to evacuate the facility, but something doesn’t seem right.  
  
Ahsoka gets in her speeder and pushes a button on her comlink. “Anakin, I just finished up. I’m heading to the hiding place we talked about.”  
  
“Well done, Ahsoka,” Vader says, focusing on her accomplishment rather than his mixed feeling about the plan itself.  
  
“Thanks. How are things on your end?”  
  
“Admiral Valum claims to do as I command, but he is braver than I expected and was resistant to my orders. It is possible he intends to deceive me.”  
  
“Now that you mentioned it, I’ve seen people loading equipment onto their star destroyer, but there’s not that many of them and they’re not going very fast. For a facility this size, I figured there would be hundreds of them moving as fast as they can.”  
  
“Then it is as I suspected. Valum has no intention of evacuating.”  
  
“Well, what would Darth Vader do if a subornment ignored an order and lied about doing it?” Ahsoka realizes too late what she was asking.  
  
“The old Darth Vader would choke him to death and promote a yes-man to his position. Our plan already demands that none of them survive. Is this course of action acceptable in your mind?”  
  
All Ahsoka can say is, “Um . . .” Vader has a point. They’re planning to blow them up anyway. Why not just choke him out? Ahsoka wishes it were that simple. She tells him, getting a little emotional, but not angry, “Anakin, I just don’t want you to fall back into old habits. When we start working with the Rebellion, you can’t be doing the same thing to rebels.”  
  
“I know,” Vader says, not upset with her for thinking that needed to be said.  
  
“Can you just intimidate him?”  
  
“I have already attempted to by choking him to a non-lethal degree. He will not break so easily. But I may have a solution. Valum does not fear me, but the others will. I will demand that they restrain him and I will conduct the evacuation personally.”  
  
A troubling thought occurs to Ahsoka. “If this guy is brave enough to refuse your orders after that, you think he might be brave enough to contact the Emperor?”  
  
“If he has, we must prepare for the worst.”  
  
“What does ‘the worst’ look like? Let’s say, what if the Emperor knows what we’re doing; what will he do?”  
  
“He will have Valum alert his staff, but make sure they pretend to know nothing. The Emperor will not count on stormtroopers to carry out my demise. He would send inquisitors; as many as are available. I trust you are familiar with inquisitors?”  
  
“They’re kind of like Sith, but they aren’t as powerful. They use those double-sided, spiny lightsabers and they’re usually sent to hunt Jedi.”  
  
“Do you know how they became inquisitors?” Vader inquires.  
  
“I assumed they just sign up like anyone else in the Empire.”  
  
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Vader says with a heavy heart.  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“The inquisitors were Jedi. They were still young when the Emperor ordered the extermination of the Jedi and their masters died. They were tortured and brainwashed until they submitted to the Empire.”  
  
“That’s horrible!” Ahsoka breathes. She never knew that until now. The inquisitors she met never seemed like they were anything other than loyal to the Empire. Whatever brainwashing methods were used had to have been very effective. Ahsoka even wonders if the same thing could have happened to her if she wasn’t so lucky.  
  
Changing the subject, Vader says, “I will discover what Valum knows and contact you again. For now, remain close to the facility. If the staff become hostile, I will require your intervention.”  
  
“You got it.” It warms Ahsoka’s heart to have Vader ask her to come rescue him.

  
  
The pointless wandering starts with Vader asking a stormtrooper where he can find Valum. The sormtrooper doesn’t know, so Vader orders him to produce someone who might. The stormtrooper brings him to an officer who claims to have an idea where Valum should be, but when they get there, Valum isn’t. The officer gives Vader the name of someone else who “might” know where Valum is, but by Vader can see what’s going on here. Valum has told everyone to send Vader around in circles while he hides.  
  
“Enough!” Vader demands. “I know you can lead me to Valum. Take me to him now.”  
  
“I assure you that if I knew where he was I would show you.”  
  
“If you have such an interest in cooperating with me, why have you not used your comlink to learn his location?”  
  
“Valum doesn’t use a comlink,” says the officer, fear shaking his voice.  
  
Vader knows he’s lying. He also knows the officer is afraid of him. In order for the officer to lie to his face, there hast to be someone he fears even more than Darth Vader. There is only one person who fits that description and it isn’t Valum. The Emperor must have given orders to treat Vader this way. Mission accomplished; Vader had set out to learn what Valum knows and he knows everything.  
  
Vader tells the officer as if he hasn’t figured it out, “I will find someone more competent to aid me.”  
  
Vader walks away and as soon as he’s is alone, he uses his complink to contact Ahsoka. “Valum has contacted the Emperor. He knows of my betrayal.”  
  
“Are they attacking you?!” Ahsoka asks worriedly.  
  
“Not yet. They are pretending to be unaware for now. They’re plan is to stall me until the inquisitors arrive.”  
  
“Okay, so we’re in for the worst.”  
  
“I will need you to be near to me. I will obtain restraints and meet with you. We will act as if you are my prisoner. They will know we are allies, but will not confront us for fear of revealing their knowledge.”  
  
“Hang on,” Ahsoka says, her head spinning. “Let me get this straight. They are pretending they don’t know you betrayed them and you’re pretending you don’t know they’re pretending to not know you betrayed them. The plan is for me to pretend to be your prisoner and they will pretend they don’t know we’re pretending while we pretend we don’t know that they know we’re pretending.”  
  
“That is the plan,” Vader confirms.  
  
“I literally don’t know what I just said, but I heard something about me putting on restraints and telling people you captured me. But wait, the Emperor doesn’t know about me yet. Shouldn’t we keep me a secret until the inquisitors get here for a tactical advantage?”  
  
“You will still remain a wildcard after you have been seen. They will be unaware of your connection to the force or your skills with a lightsaber.”  
  
“What will they think I am?” Ahsoka asks.  
  
“You will pose as a programmer.”  
  
Ahsoka needed a moment for it to click. “OH! They know you want the droids to fight for the Rebellion, so they’ll think I’m only here to reprogram the droids. Let’s do it.”

  
  
Vader and Ahsoka walk through the halls of the Post-Separatist Holding Facility. Many of the imperials can guess that they are working together, but they dare not let on that they know; just as Vader planned. An officer approaches, accompanied by several stormtroopers, and says, “Lord Vader, allow me to take this prisoner to our-”  
  
Vader cuts her off, saying insistently, “This prisoner is not to leave my side.” Vader squeezes Ahsoka’s arm a little tighter, but not tight enough to hurt her. In this way, he is trying to tell Ahsoka, “Don’t worry; I won’t let them take you.”  
  
Ahsoka wasn’t worried, but Vader’s strong yet gentle grip has a noteworthy effect on her. She’s not scared, but she loves how much he wants to protect her, how much he cares about her.  
  
“She is a programmer I found outside the facility,” Vader lies. It’s not very convincing, but it he only needs the officer to not call him out on it.  
  
“She calls herself a programmer? A programmer wearing that?” the officer dubiously asks, looking, with much jealousy, at Ahsoka’s cleavage.  
  
“What about it?” Ahsoka asks scornfully. “You got a problem with the way I dress, lady?”  
  
Vader prepares himself to perform the art of telling an obvious lie designed to make someone believe a different lie. “As unexpected as it was that I found her, this way yield an opportunity. Her skills may be used to benefit the Empire.”  
  
“How so?” asks the jealous officer.  
  
“If you could lead us to a control panel for the battle droids, she may be able to make a few improvements; that is, once she has been properly conditioned to do my bidding.”  
  
Playing along with Vader, Ahsoka says, “Listen, you don’t have to hurt me! I didn’t sign up for sneaking into this place with Darth Vader hanging around! I’ll do whatever you want!”  
  
Vader tells the officer, “It would seem we can proceed directly to her usefulness to us.”  
  
“Let me make sure I understand,” says the officer worriedly. “You wish to bring a programmer to the control terminal so she can make adjustments to the battle droids?”  
  
Ahsoka struggles not to laugh at the officer. Just as Vader planned, the officer thinks he wants Ahsoka to reprogram the droids to fight for the Rebellion . . . even though she doesn’t know how to do that.  
  
Vader stares at the officer and asks coldly, “Is there a problem?”  
  
Ahsoka thinks to herself, “Don’t laugh! Don’t laugh! Don’t laugh!”  
  
The officer says nervously, “I . . . think I should run this by Admiral Valum.”  
  
“Yes, I believe you should send someone to inform Valum.”  
  
“Send someone?”  
  
“And while your messenger tracks down the ever elusive admiral who apparently uses no comlink, you can lead us to the control terminal. Surely an officer such as yourself knows the location?”  
  
The officer is apprehensive, but she struggles to find a way out of this. “I . . . would-”  
  
“Officer, I would hate to find a replacement for your position on such short notice,” Vader says as a calm threat. “Especially since you’ve come so close to the end of your responsibilities at this facility.”  
  
The officer swallows hard and shakes with fear, knowing what he’s saying. She whispers something to a stormtrooper; what to tell Valum, no doubt. She then says to Vader in defeat, “Come with me.”  
  
As the officer leads them away, Ahsoka finds a moment when everyone else is out of earshot and whispers to Vader, “That was so smooth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've realized that I recommended my other story, Disney Princesses: Extermination, but I never told you much about it. In DPE, the Enchantress from Beauty and the Beast wants to kill every royal in the world, starting with the Disney Princesses. There's actions sense with a bunch of beasts which there are different kinds of. I put a ton of thought into what the princesses have been doing since the events of their movies and how the aftermath of those stories have effected them. A big theme in the story is balancing freedom with safety. The Enchantress is an basically an anarchist who want complete freedom while the royals are trying to maintain safety for their people. There's so many different things I played around with in terms of these characters existing in the same universe. There's things like Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather knowing the Enchantress from before the war, there's an explanation for how Mulan can meet with the European princesses so often despite living so far away, it deals with the fact that Merida escaped a forced marriage while Phillip and Aurora are still in an arranged engagement, there's a chapter where Anna has a conversation with Jaq and Gus from Cinderella where they sort of compare the mice to the spirits from the Enchanted Forest. There's a lot of stuff like that.
> 
> Disney Princesses: Extermination. Go check it out. It's really good. Right now, there's 36 chapters and I think it's going to wrap up with 4 more.
> 
> Thank you for reading. Please comment and subscribe.


	6. Into the Abyss

Ahsoka isn’t actually a programmer. She is a good mechanic; in fact she worked as a mechanic for a while between the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War. But that was hardly the same thing. Ahsoka sits in a chair in front of the control terminal with Vader standing next to her. Imperials watch, suspected the worst, but Vader makes sure they don’t come to close. Ahsoka speaks at a volume only loud enough for Vader to hear her. “I can’t actually reprogram the battle droids to fight the Empire myself.”  
  
“I am aware. If nothing else, we have benefited by finding the control terminal. When the Rebellion takes this facility, we can show them where to go.” The Post-Separatist Holding Facility is a very easy place to get lost in; this information is more helpful than it sounds.  
  
“While we’re here, I can copy some files before the Empire starts deleting stuff the Rebellion can use.” Ahsoka pulls a drive out of her pocket and looks nervously at the stormtroopers who might see it if she tries anything.  
  
Not even needing to be asked, Vader circles around to Ahsoka’s other side, blocking their view. Ahsoka gives him a thankful smile, inserts the drive into the terminal without being seen and begins the downloading process. “This is going to take a while. I guess we have some time to talk.” Ahsoka has been wanting to ask something, but she has been nervous about it. Now, she feels a little more comfortable around Vader and is ready. She takes a deep breath and asks, “Tell me more about why you said Anakin Skywalker was weak?”  
  
Darth Vader doesn’t want to talk about this. But for some reason, he feels like he should. “Anakin Skywalker could not save his mother, nor could he save his wife.”  
  
“You saved a lot of other people,” Ahsoka argues. “You saved me more times than I can count. I don’t think your mother would have called you weak. Padme wouldn’t have either.”  
  
“Anakin Skywalker served an order than didn’t trust him or his apprentice. Anakin Skywalker was-”  
  
Ahsoka looks nauseated. She shakes her head and says, “Stop. Stop talking like that. You are Anakin Skywalker. You are the one that defeated Count Dooku. You are the one who destroyed a Federation control ship when you were nine years old. You are the one who helped free so many planets. You were too hard on yourself, Anakin. You couldn’t have saved everyone; no one could have.”  
  
“Anakin should have-”  
  
“HM!?” Ahsoka grunts.  
  
Vader gives in. “I should have saved the people that mattered the most.”  
  
“I’m sorry for your loss, Anakin. But that doesn’t make you weak. Everyone loses people; not everyone saves so many people. A lot of those you helped were parents and spouses; they were the most important people to someone.”  
  
Ahsoka’s words strike Vader as both comforting and logical. Now he’s wondering why he hadn’t told himself this same thing before. Vader had been measuring his strength with unfair standards. He had been thinking like a Sith.  
  
Ahsoka tells him, “I meant what I said earlier; you were the strongest person I knew.”  
  
“Thank you, Ahsoka.”  
  
“My pleasure,” she says warmly. Ahsoka takes a look at the progress on the terminal’s screen. “We still have some time here. Maybe we should figure out what to do next.”  
  
“Our next course of action should be to jam transmissions coming from this facility.”  
  
“I have what need for that.”  
  
“Unfortunately, they possess the equipment required to transmit through such interference.”  
  
“They can do that?”  
  
“Yes. But once we destroy it, they will receive no further reinforcements after the inquisitors arrive; for a time at least.”  
  
“Hopefully we can get this place under control by the time they figure out the inquisitors are taken care of. That reminds me; how are we going to beat the inquisitor and the thousands of stormtroopers around here? I know that they won’t be expecting me to help you, but still.”  
  
“With the inquisitors dead, the others will flee; flee to their star destroyer and we both know how far that will get them.”  
  
“Really? This many stormtroopers are just going to get scared off?” Ahsoka asks dubiously.  
  
“In adition to dispatching their inquisitors, we will employ scare tactics. We shall use tight corridors to nullify superior numbers and in doing so, make ourselves appear invisible. We can set traps, making them wonder how many others there are. Many of them will care less about our odds of killing them all, and worry more about personal survival. Victory will be ours in time.”  
  
Vader might have doubts about the savable nature of his soul, but he is sure of his battle capabilities. Ahsoka adopts some of his confidence and tells him, “Good news; we won’t even need to search very long for their equipment. This terminal has a detailed map; one of the things I’m copying. We’ll never need to trick someone into being our guide again. . . . Not here anyway.” Ahsoka pulls her drive from the terminal and says, “Alright, we’re finished here. Time to fake my death.”  
  
“What?” Vader asks, almost forgetting to keep his voice down.  
  
“These stormtroopers don’t recognize me, but inquisitors will. Identifying former Jedi is part of their job. If people think I’m dead, I can do some sneaking around, destroy that equipment and surprise the inquisitors when they get here. Hand me back my lightsabers.”  
  
Vader obliges her, wondering where she is going to hide them if not on her belt where everyone would see them. His question is answered when she stuffs the lightsabers down her leggings; that’ll work.  
  
Ahsoka stands up from the chair and shouts loud enough for everyone to hear her, “Please, I did everything I could!” Ahsoka gains the attention of the whole room.  
  
Vader is off put by the lack of warning she gave him. He might have liked details about how this is supposed to go or a chance to discuss options, but apparently they’re doing this. “You are useless! I have asked so little and received even less!” Vader shouts, playing along with her act as everyone stares at them.  
  
Ahsoka shakes her pleading hands and says with fake desperation, “I’ll find a way to justify your mercy! Please don’t drop me off a walkway into the abyss!” That’s code for, “Drop me into the abyss.”  
  
Darth Vader stares at her with caged frustration, wishing he weren’t stuck with this. He thinks, “Ahsoka, I hope you know what you’re doing.” Vader says out loud, “If that is the fate you fear, than it shall be so!”  
  
Vader grabs her arm and walks off with her as she wails, “NO! NO!”  
  
Vader brings her to a walkway with a great view of an abyss. Ahsoka wonders why places like this always seem to have such vast abysses; it seems to her like just a waste of space. Having been such a high ranking individual in the Empire for some time, Vader knows, but the reason is far too complex and longwinded to go into. The imperials tried to use it for the same use as most of the areas in the Post-Separatist Holding Facility; that use being to hold droids. Droids were tide into a sting with metal cords anchored to the walkways. There’s also more droids clamped on to the wall below.  
  
Many stormtroopers watch, wondering if Vader will go through with this. They do, after all, think she is his programmer. However, no one gets too close to them, allowing Vader to whisper, “Are you sure about this?”  
  
“I’ll be fine. I brought a grappling hook,” Ahsoka whispers back. Ahsoka shouts loud enough for the stormtroopers to hear, “Don’t do this! I have a family!”  
  
The walkways are made in such a way that Vader can look below them between the pieces of metal. His eyes search desperately for something that grappling hook can catch on to.  
  
Ahsoka shouts, “Please! I’m innocent!” She whispers, “You’re starting to look hesitant. Any time now.” She shouts, “If there is any mercy any your heart, let me go!”  
  
Alright, here we go. Vader wants to make it look convincing; he just hopes she doesn’t actually get scared by his performance. Vader grabs her neck and pulls her close. He doesn’t shout, but he speaks loud enough to be heard by the audience. “You wished to be let go. But even as I release you into the last fall of your existence, you will not be released from my grip on your fate. I will overtake your every thought as you wait for the death that is my judgment.”  
  
Ahsoka’s eyes don’t drift from his Vader’s helmet. She memorizes every word and thinks to herself, “Why am I enjoying this?” Ahsoka knows Vader is just pretending and his hands fingers wrapped around her neck are loose and harmless. Her reason for enjoying it is far too complex and longwinded to go into.  
  
Surprising Ahsoka with his method, Vader picks her up and lifts her above his head as she exclaims, “Whoa!” Vader leans forward and drops her into the abyss as she screams. Her voice persists, but is becoming increasingly faint. Vader watches her fall until she is no longer visible.  
  
Vader turns around, looking at the many people who saw the whole thing, glade that they can’t see his expression under that helmet. “As you were,” he says as calmly as possible. He walks off at a fast pass, desperately searching for a place to be alone and contact Ahsoka with his comlink. Once he enters such a room, he locks the door behind him and presses the button, panicking all the while. “Ahsoka?!”  
  
“I’m fine,” she says, rolling her eyes at his excessive worrying. Though deep down likes to see more evidence that he cares.  
  
“Ahsoka, about my performance . . .”  
  
Ahsoka braces herself, wondering if he’s bringing it up for a certain other reason.  
  
Vader continues, “I hope I did not frighten you.”  
  
“Frighten? No! Nohohoho,” Ahsoka laughs with relief. “That was great!” Ahsoka says and then winces, hoping she hasn’t said too much.  
  
“Perhaps I should have had more faith in your abilities,” Vader says. He considers telling her how lost he would be without her, but he is distracted by a feeling. “Ahsoka, I sense the presence of a group strong in the dark side of the Force. I suspect that the inquisitors have arrived.  
  
“Already?”  
  
“They knew the urgency of their mission and wasted no time. They may have already have been on a nearby planet. Ahsoka, I need you to take care of their equipment and prevent future transmissions. I will keep our enemies distracted until you are successful.”  
  
“Got it,” Ahsoka says. “Just let me know if you need me to come rescue you.”  
  
“As you wish.”  
  
Vader exits the room and is quickly found by an officer and several stormtroopers. “Lord Vader, Admiral Valum would like a word with you.”  
  
“Does he?” Vader asks, knowing full well that the officer is lying. “That is very interesting timing.”  
  
“I most ask that you come with me.”  
  
Vader takes his lightsaber off his belt, but doesn’t ignite it. Vader tells him, “I will go with you to your intended destination. But we both know Valum has no intention of speaking with me.”  
  
The very nervous officer doesn’t know what to do with that.  
  
“Lead the way,” Darth Vader tells him.  
  
The officer says nothing. He just starts walking and Vader walks beside him.

  
  
“Just through this door,” says the officer, not sure if he should keep up the act. Vader knows what’s coming and yet he went along with the officer.  
  
Vader says, “Tell Valum he should have evacuated. You are dismissed.”  
  
The officer half walks half runs away, glad he doesn’t have to be around Vader anymore.  
  
Vader pushes the button and opens the door. He walks through and finds six inquisitors as expected. They are all dressed in black and hold double sided lightsabers with semicircles that run to each of the emitters. Vader thought he would recognize any inquisitor, but he either hasn’t met them or doesn’t remember them. Vader remembers with a heavy heart how he had captured and trained other inquisitors. But this group is foreign to him. The Emperor kept them a secret from nearly everyone including Vader. (Though Vader had found out of their existence.) He doesn’t recognize them, and instead identifies them mostly by their species. A grey furred wookiee stands in dignified posture. A twi’lek with red skin and black marks all over stares at Vader with the most hatred in her eyes. A blue chiss is the least pleased to be an inquisitor as signified by the sorrow in his red eyes. A more mysterious figure wears a helmet that conceals his identity and species. A togruta, the same species as Ahsoka, brings up the disturbing concept that she might have met a similar fate.  
  
Vader tells them, “There is no need for you to pretend otherwise. I know why you’ve come.”  
  
“Traitor!” shouts the Togruta, knowing the truth is already out there.  
  
“I could call any of you that same thing. You were Jedi once; as was I. Now you have fallen to the Dark Side.”  
  
The Chiss looks even more miserable having taken that hard.  
  
Vader continues, “But there is hope. I have turned my back on the Emperor. You can still do this same.”  
  
At that, the Chiss is struck, letting his mouth fall open at the wonderful offer he can only hope is real. Vader notices this.  
  
“Don’t preach to us, Vader,” says the Twi’lek. Vader doesn’t remember clearly yet, but he feels like he may have met her a long time ago.  
  
The Wookiee thoughtfully growls in his people’s language.  
  
Darth Vader replies, “That is not true. Supporting the Empire is not the only sure path to peace. The Empire will soon be defeated by Luke Skywalker.”  
  
The Togruta and the Mysterious One shared a smug glance at each other, non-verbally asking, “Should we tell him?” The Chiss, who had become hopeful a moment ago, sinks back into despair. The Wookiee knowingly looks away from him.  
  
Vader can tell they know something he doesn’t. But he doubts he’ll get the truth from them. Talking about Luke doesn’t seem to sway them, so Vader decides talk about what he can do. “I know many of the Emperor’s secrets, this facility being the first of many. The Empire will not survive against me.”  
  
“Enough!” cries the Twi’lek, igniting one side of her lightsaber.  
  
Darth Vader also ignites his lightsaber, wishing he didn’t need to. As their blades clash, Vader looks around at his surroundings, sizing up what he has to work with. Metal crates are stacked on both sides.  
  
With a flick of his hand, Darth Vader commands the crates to tumble into a messy pile between the Twi’lek and the other inquisitors. Now that most of them are hindered, Vader force-pushes the Twi’lek into the recently created pile of crates. Vader might have tried beating them all himself if not for the Chiss’s reactions to his words. If Vader is smart, these inquisitors may yet be recruited. Instead of fighting, Vader takes his chance to rush back out the door and stabs the control panel with his lightsaber, causing the door to close and stay closed. That won’t hold them for long. Vader has only bought himself a minute if he’s lucky.  
  
A group of stormtroopers point their blasters at Vader, wondering if they are really supposed to shoot at him of all people. “Stand down!” Vader orders in vain.  
  
The voice of Valum erupts from nearby, demanding that they, “OPEN FIRE!”  
  
They shoot as instructed and Vader defends himself. There’s too many blaster bolts for Vader to deflect them all, but he doesn’t need to. For one thing, stormtroopers don’t have the best aim and Vader can use either of his immensely strong mechanical hands to block bolts that his lightsaber is too busy to deflect. Vader knows he needs to get away from the other room as soon as possible. He moves toward them slowly, hoping to scare them off. Vader strikes down many of them with their own blaster bolts. There is no malice in it; in fact, he feel a small portion of pity. When the remaining troopers retreat, he does not pursue them. Vader can hear one of the inquisitors cutting a hole in the door. He runs as fast as he is able to in his condition. Long ago, his body was burned and he now wears heavy armor. The key to escaping the inquisitors will not be running faster than they can, it lies in being one step ahead of them. Vader finds a hallway with two branching paths and he gets clever. Vader throws his lightsaber far away into a control panel in the left branch of the hallway. He force-pulls his lightsaber back and then walks runs down the branch to the right.  
  
The inquisitors escape the room Vader left them in and find the dead stormtroopers lying in his wake. “He went to your right!” Valum tells them. “Hurry before he gets away. They run and find the branching hallways.  
  
“Look over there!” says the Mysterious One, pointing at the damaged control panel in the left side.  
  
Five out of the six inquisitors run down the left branch of the hallway, thinking Vader must have gone that way. But the Twi’lek suspects trickery. She thinks that if Vader was on the other side of the door next the control panel, he would have stabbed the control panel from the other side. And the damage looks like it was inflicted from this side. The Twi’lek thinks that Vader ran the other way, but she doesn’t share this with the others. Instead, she runs down the right hallway, hoping to find Vader on her own.  
  
Vader runs down through the halls, with no one around but the deactivated droids. He considers contacting Ahsoka, not to ask for help, but to ask for a statue report. But he stops when he hears someone running behind him. Hearing the footsteps of only one person, Vader turns to face his pursuer rather than running.  
  
The Twi’lek screams with rage as she attacks. When their blades clash, Vader can see even more of that hatred in her eyes. “You can’t run forever!” she growls.  
  
“For the moment, I have no reason to.” Vader thinks this is perfect. He has one of them alone already. But there’s something nagging at him; fuzzy memory screaming at him to remember it from the other side of a wall. Vader can see that this Twi’lek has another reason, besides his betrayal, to hate him so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually heard that in canon, all the inquisitors are all dead by this point. The explanation here is that these inquisitors are different, super-secret inquisitors as was talked about in the narration. This is another not canon concept. Naturally, this means they're all OCs, so don't bust your brain trying to figure out what their from.
> 
> I think it IS canon that Vader was not as good a teacher as he was a fighter.
> 
> So in the Star Wars: The Unending universe, the Emperor decided to take the training of inquisitors out of Vader's hands and didn't tell him about it until he found out himself.
> 
> Also, if you're wondering what a chiss is, that's Admiral Thrawn's species with the blue skin and red eyes.


	7. The Inflicted Path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story. I realized recently that, in the last chapter, I wrote that there were six inquisitors and then I described only five inquisitors. I was like "Okay, Twi'lek, Wookiee, Chiss, Togruta, and Mysterious One. That's six right?" WRONG! I would add in a sixth inquisitor's description into that chapter . . . if I didn't think this was so funny. I literally wrote five characters, thinking they were six characters. So I've decided that I will describe the race of the sixth inquisitor later and give her a personality that explains why she stayed behind the others and didn't say a word in that first exchange.
> 
> For those of you who are interested, Disney Princesses: Extermination is near completion. I've already written the last to chapter. I just need to proofread them, add author's notes, and upload.
> 
> Also, if you've seen how long Disney Princesses: Extermination is, you might be wondering if Star Wars: The Unending will be just as long. It won't. I'm aiming for Star Wars: The Unending to be around 40,000 to 50,000 words; give or take.

How long has Luke been here? He isn’t sure anymore. The Emperor had been keeping him awake for hours, but he finally decided to stop for now and pick up where they left off later. The Emperor has been gone for just a couple of minutes. Luke has been trying to decide what he should do now that he’s alone. He could get out of that chair like he did before, but he’s so tired. He just wants to sleep while he can. Thankfully, Luke isn’t hungry or very thirsty. The Emperor has plans for Luke that require him to not die of hunger or thirst, so he’s been fed; not with anything tasty of course. Luke almost wishes he was hungry so he could have another reason to get out of that chair and look around. But he’s so tired and miserable. He doesn’t feel like walking anywhere in his condition. His torture wounds are fresh and he doesn’t have much strength right now.  
  
Luke doesn’t think he could get much done right now. So he decides his time would be better spent trying to figure out a way to get out of this. “Maybe the Emperor would stop torturing me I pretend to be on his side. But if I do that, he’ll probably keep me on a short leash at first. He’ll expect me to do things and I might not be able to get out of it. Is that what most people do when they’re being brainwashed? Do they just pretend at first until they just get stuck their ways? I don’t know. I probably shouldn’t try it either way. He’ll be able to sense the lack of the Dark Side in me. He would know that I’m pretending. But wait, maybe . . . maybe if I tap into the Dark Side just a little bit, I might be able to- NO! NO! I can’t! What am I going to do? I can’t take this for much longer.” Luke tries to think of another idea, but he doesn’t get very far and drifts off to sleep instead.

  
  
How foolish it is that this inquisitor thinks she can best Darth Vader single handedly.  
  
As the Twi’lek attacks relentlessly, Vader doesn’t even have to try very hard to block every strike. His mechanical legs might not be able to run as fast as the inquisitors, but his mechanical arms can swing faster than theirs. Vader only defends himself, not actually trying to kill her; not yet.  
  
Vader thinks to himself, “If there is hope for me, there must be hope for her as well. I can turn her as Ahsoka turned me.”  
  
Vader tells the Twi’lek, “Your anger and your hatred strengthens your connection to the Dark Side. You think this makes you stronger, but the Dark Side blinds you as it blinded me.”  
  
“SHUT UP!” the Twi’lek screams.  
  
The Twi’lek stabs forward. Vader easily knocks her blade off course with a swing to the side and then instantly moves his blade right next to her neck, stopping mere inches away. The Twi’lek gasps and stares at the blade. Vader could’ve taken her head off. But he choose to keep talking. “Do you not see?”  
  
Vader takes his blade away from her neck. Instead of giving up, the Twi’lek attacks again and Vader says, “Even now you refuse to call upon your fellow inquisitors to help you fight against me. Your judgment is clouded. Your logic is lost as you resign yourself to the false promises of satisfaction told you by your hatred.”  
  
Vader force-pushes her away and then force-pulls her back. He steps to the side and the Twi’lek lands on her feet next to him. Vader moves behind her and grabs her arm. He deactivates his lightsaber and places the emitter to her back. The Twi’lek is frightened by another moment Vader could use to easily kill her. She gets Vader’s message clearly. Vader deliberately set up and passed up two opportunities to kill her, illustrating how foolish she’s being for not calling for help.  
  
“This path of yours has no hope to offer you. I know because I too have walked that path and found none.”  
  
“I’m not like you!” the Twi’lek protests defiantly.  
  
“We were both Jedi and we both were pulled into the darkness. It is not too late for either of us.”  
  
“How dare you compare yourself to me? You choose to sever the Emperor. Were you ever tortured?”  
  
“Torture is exactly what this suit is for,” Vader answers. “The Emperor refuses many features that would have made my situation more bearable. I can barely sleep. I have no medicine to numb my pain; only medicine to keep me from fatigue. My-”  
  
“SHUT UP!” the Twi’lek screams even louder than before. She tries to strike him, but Vader throws her to the side by the arm. Once she gets to her feet, the Twi’lek says venomously, “I will not join you of all people! You can save your preaching about hope!”  
  
“Even if you have no interest in joining me, you can still run away. Soon the Empire will be defeated and you will need not fear punishment for your betrayal.”  
  
“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! This is who I am now. I am and will always be an inquisitor.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Vader annunciates.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
It is with no joy or malice that Vader says, “Than I shall do what I hope would be done to me.”  
  
Vader steps forward and unleashes a storm of swings at her. She blocks his attacks, but she barely keeps herself from being knocked over as she keeps backing up. Vader slashes her thigh with his lightsaber, sending falling onto her side as she screams in agony. To make sure she doesn’t try to get up or swing at him, Vader puts his foot on her lightsaber along with the fingers wrapped around it. Vader holds his lightsaber upside down and prepares to plunge it into her heart, taking comfort in the fact that he would rather the same thing be done to him than stay in the dark.  
  
But now, as he takes another look at her face, something’s different. He didn’t recognize her when she was enraged. But now that she looks so scared, so helpless . . . He remembers.  
  
Vader doesn’t move; he is stunned by the horrifying truth. He hears the memory reply in his mind.  
  
“NO! Let my daddy go!”  
  
“Kara, run!” the Twi’lek’s father had said.  
  
Vader remembers his own voice saying, “I was unaware that you had a daughter, ‘master Jedi.’ She will make a fine inquisitor.”  
  
And then there was the sound her father’s gasp accompanied by the sound of a lightsaber piercing his flesh.  
  
Oh, no.  
  
Vader moves the lightsaber away from Kara. He takes his foot off of her fingers and steps back.  
  
It was his fault. Vader was the one who killed her father and turned her over to the Empire. He did this to her. Vader feels like his heart is decomposing. He was about to kill her because he was comparing himself to her. This is not his kindred spirit; this is his victim.  
  
Instead of killing her, Darth Vader rips Kara’s lightsaber out of her hand. It’s not hard for him to do since his fingers are mechanical and hers were just stepped on. Vader pulls her up and puts her in a sleeper hold, careful not to crush her head tails in the process. It hurts Vader to do even this to Kara. Hasn’t he caused her enough pain? Eventually she goes to sleep and Vader leaves in a hurry, taking Kara’s lightsaber with him.  
  
As he runs, he thinks over how she could have been an inquisitor without his knowledge. It comes back to Vader that Kara was transported away in a ship that was reported to have crashed. No doubt the Emperor faked her death so he could have her to himself. Vader might not have trained Kara, but this event reminds him of the others he did train.  
  
Vader finds a room where he can be alone and locks the door behind him.  
  
Vader sits on the floor with his back against the wall, letting the weight of his past swallow him.  
  
“What kind of monster forgets doing that to a person?” Vader wonders, having taken a long time to remember her. “That’s what I am; a monster. And I was a fool to think there was hope for me. I have been asking myself if I can change. I should have realized my soul is forfeit either way. The people I’ve hurt deserve retribution. My mere existence is an insult to them. I have done such terrible things and I should die for them.” Vader wallows in despair. He looks with disgust at his black suit, hearing the ever-present sound of his respirator. He feels no sense of hope. He feels so lost. He cries, putting his hands as close to his eyes as his helmet will allow. He hates myself for what he’s done. He hates himself for not being a better person. He hates himself just for being alive. A new thought occurs to him, bringing a dark feeling of hope where none other exists. “Why can’t I just die?” Vader asks himself as a serious suggestion. “The Rebel Alliance will win the war with this droid army at its disposal. Once I have delivered them, Luke will not need me anymore.” Vader holds his deactivated lightsaber in his shaking hand. He moves the lightsaber’s emitter to his chest, thinking about how easy it would be. “Yes. One last mission and then my victims can have my long overdue demise. It won’t matter if Luke can forgive me. Nor will it matter if the darkness still exists within me. I don’t deserve the life I desire any more than I am capable of achieving it. I should die after this mission. I WILL die after this mission! It will be better that way; easier as well. Besides, who would miss me?”  
  
“Hey, Skyguy, is this a good time to talk?” Ahsoka asks over the comlink.  
  
His guilt makes him think he should do nothing to stop his despair. His souls cries out for Ahsoka’s kind words anyway. Vader replies weakly, “This is . . . an ideal time to talk.”  
  
“Are you alright? You sound miserable.”  
  
“I have not been alright since the Clone Wars. Ahsoka, I . . . I think you may have been wrong about me. I think I might be a lost cause.”  
  
“Don’t say that!” Ahsoka pleads.  
  
Vader tells her about Kara, about how he killed her father and handed her over to the Empire to become an inquisitor.  
  
“Where are you?” Ahsoka asks. “Let me meet you.”

  
  
Ahsoka enters the room, having followed Vader’s directions. She is worried sick for him. The first thing she says upon seeing Darth Vader is, “There is good in you, Anakin. There always has been.”  
  
“You say that, not knowing the extent my crimes,” Vader says, chocked up as he gets to his feet.  
  
“We’ve already been over this. I know you’ve done horrible things. But that’s all over.”  
  
“And what about my victims?!” Vader shouts. “Do they not deserve justice?”  
  
“Justice, yes. You can give them that. Not by giving up, but by making sure that the same thing that happened to them doesn’t happen to others. Anakin, I know . . . believe me; I know it seems easier to just give up. After the Jedi were killed, I went into hiding when I should have fought. I tried to keep my head in the sand and not let anyone know I used to be a Jedi. I didn’t really try to make a positive deference as much as I was just surviving for the sake of surviving. It was boring and pointless. Giving up on having any hope didn’t help me. It didn’t help anyone.”  
  
Darth Vader wants to believe every word. He’s just not sure if he does. He has a question for Ahsoka; one which might help him if answered. Deep down, he knows she’ll probably say “yes,” but he needs to hear it from her. He needs to hear a “yes” to this question from someone. “Ahsoka . . . would you . . . miss me if I were gone.”  
  
“Yes,” she says without hesitation. “I’ve missed you this whole time.”  
  
“You missed who I used to be. You keep calling me Anakin as if you expect me to start wise cracking at any moment just like old times. Would you miss who I am know?”  
  
It disheartening for Ahsoka to think about how she might never get the version of Anakin she remembers back.  
  
Vader notices her hesitation and says, “Be honest with me, Ahsoka. If the answer is ‘no,’ I must hear it.”  
  
Ahsoka tells him, her voice weak, but not devastated, “I . . . have noticed the difference. Sure, you aren’t as snarky as you used to be.” Her voice perks up as she says, “But hey; you’re still disobeying orders you know are wrong; just like old times. And you’re still making sure I’m okay.” Ahsoka takes a second to think and says, “You know, the old Anakin didn’t trust my judgment the way you do now. And, honestly, I kind of like the way you talk now.” Ahsoka freezes as a strange realization dawns on her. She thinks to herself, “Wait, wait, wait. Apart from how sad he’s been lately, do I prefer him this way?” Ahsoka snaps out of her stunned state and tells Vader, “I would miss who you are now.”  
  
Vader is relieved to hear that from her. It actually means more to him that he thought it would. “Thank you, Ahsoka.”  
  
For a few seconds, they just look at each other. Ahsoka’s eyes are warm and it warms Vader’s heart to look into them. Ahsoka, of course, can’t see Vader’s face under that helmet, but somehow she can tell he’s looking at her the same way. While she’s looking at him, she starts to appreciate the way he looks in that suit a little more. He looks powerful and his helmet is a work of art. Likewise, Vader is even more taken with her revealing outfit than before. Ahsoka has only become more beautiful with age. Everything from the blue stripes on her montrails to her figure has improved.  
  
Breaking the silence, Ahsoka tells him, “On a less emotional note, I made sure they can’t call for help. But . . . Long story short, I made sure that shorter range transmissions from one person in this area can be sent to someone else in this area. So the good news is we can still talk to each other, but the bad news is, so can they.”  
  
“You have done well. Now we must prepare for the coming battles. There are six inquisitors here, none of which I am very familiar with.”

  
  
Ahsoka and Vader agree to split up and plant bombs around the facility. An hour after they begin, Valum is informed that Vader has been caught on camera, doing exactly that. It took them long enough to find him. Though it was understandable considering the vast number of cameras they had to check.  
  
When asked if they should send stormtroopers to his location, Valum replies, “No, it’s time to use our secret weapon.”  
  
As Vader preps another bomb, he sees and hears a large, nearby door slowly rising. The door is still too low to identify the person on the other side, but Vader can see one pair of legs and a red lightsaber. Vader ignites his own lightsaber and stands ready for the challenge. Vader wonders what he’ll do this time. Will he try to turn this one, too? Will he not be able to avoid a fight to the death? Will he end up running away like last time? Vader is at least confident that he won’t let this one break him. He’s had his reassurance from Ahsoka.  
  
The door rises high enough and Vader sees that haunting face. Vader deactivates and drops his lightsaber, shocked by the identity of his next opponent. There is no face he can think of that would have instilled more devastation than this one. Vader falls to his knees, unable to bare it. “No,” Vader weeps. “No, no, no. Not you.”  
  
Standing on the other side of the now open door, holding a red lightsaber is Luke Skywalker who has come in service of the Empire.


	8. Promises

“Luke, what have they done to you?” Vader sobs.  
  
“Nothing you didn’t want to do yourself,” Luke answers coldly. Luke spreads his arms to the sides, waving around his red lightsaber. “Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted, Father?”  
  
“I wanted us to be on the same side. I was wrong to try to pull you to the Dark Side. I should have joined you long ago.”  
  
“Now it’s too late for either of us to find light.”  
  
“No!” Vader insists. “It’s not too late for you. Even if it’s too late for me, you still have hope. You resisted the Dark Side when you were offered power as I should have.”  
  
“You offered to make me your servant until the day you betray me,” Luke counters. “Such is the way of the Sith. You planned to betray the Emperor as he betrayed his master.”  
  
“Luke, I know you have no reason to trust my word, but even when I was consumed by darkness, I wanted us to be the exception. I had no intention of betraying you.”  
  
“LIAR!” Luke ignites his lightsaber and attacks. Vader grabs and ignites his own just in time.  
  
“I know you can see reason,” Vader says as their blades remain locked. “You are wiser than I ever was.”  
  
“If that’s true, what does that tell you about the paths we have chosen?”  
  
Luke attacks, swinging his lightsaber at Vader viciously. Vader defends against each attack, not letting Luke land a hit. But each attack still hurts coming from him. Vader doesn’t try to strike back; he only guards.  
  
Vader hates the idea of fighting his son. He needs a way to end this without causing permanent damage. Vader catches a look at Luke’s lightsaber; it looks . . . wrong. Vader can tell this one was made for a Sith. That means Vader won’t feel bad about breaking it. Vader also knows that Luke’s right hand is already replaced with a mechanical one. Vader feels another pang of guilt, making it harder to defend against the many attacks. Vader knows that if he cuts off Luke’s already mechanical arm, it won’t do any more permanent damage than is already there.  
  
Vader goes on the offensive, surprising Luke with his sudden interest in the battle. Vader strikes hard, making Luke tire and even struggle to stay standing.  
  
Luke stabs forward, but Vader deflects the attack with a clockwise motion. Vader grabs Luke’s wrist to hold him in place and cut the emitter off of the lightsaber, taking a portion of Luke’s hand with it.  
  
Luke screams and Vader immediately releases him. Vader deactivates his lightsaber and tries to calm him down, saying, “I’m sorry, Luke. I only . . .” His voice trails off because he’s seen something most interesting. What remains of Luke’s right hand doesn’t show wires or anything mechanical.  
  
Vader’s voice losses all pity and remorse. “Is that hand . . . real?”  
  
“NO!”  
  
“Show me.”  
  
“Father, it hurts so much!”  
  
“SHOW ME!” Vader demands as he force-pulls him. Vader grabs his wrist and takes a good look. Sure enough; burnt flesh where there should be wires.  
  
Vader’s grip crushes his wrist as the steaming anger builds inside him. Vader feels so stupid, so manipulated. He remembers the inquisitor that didn’t show his face earlier. This isn’t Luke; it’s a changeling. “I should have known,” Vader says, staring into the face of the wretched changeling who dared to impersonate his son. Vader wraps his other hand around the Changeling’s neck and lifts him up. “I should have known that Luke Skywalker would never turn. HOW DARE YOU?!”  
  
Vader lets go of the Changeling’s wrist so he can punch him instead, break a few of the Changeling’s ribs with his mechanical fist.  
  
Vader drops the Changeling, letting him collapse on the floor.  
  
“Okay, okay! You win!” the Changeling pleads, dropping Luke’s appearance and changing back to his natural form. “Have mercy, please!”  
  
Vader stares at him, letting him sweat and cower. Eventually Vader tells him darkly, “There is no mercy.”  
  
Vader uses the Force to lift the Changeling off the floor and hurls him into a wall. He then flings across the room to collide with the opposite wall. Vader jerks him to the center of the room and makes him float there. Vader pulls the Changeling’s limbs, bending them and pushing the limits of his straining joints. The Changeling whimpers and screams as his limbs are tormented. Finally, Vader focuses more strain on a single limb, breaking the Changeling’s left leg in three different places. Vader drops him back to the floor and starts walking toward the Changeling as he tries hopelessly to crawl away.  
  
“PLEASE STOP! I was just following orders!”  
  
“That does not matter,” Vader replies coldly.  
  
Vader kicks the Changeling’s stomach, ending his crawl. The Changeling points his left hand at the corner of the ceiling and shouts, “HELP!”  
  
Vader looks where he’s pointing and sees a camera in the corner. He uses the Force to rip the camera off and crush it. Vader pushes the Changeling onto his back. Vader lowers himself, putting his knee on the Changeling’s stomach and holds his arm I place.  
  
“What are you going to do to me?” the Changeling whimpers.  
  
“Everything.” Vader ignites his lightsaber upside-down, digging the blade into the floor near the Changeling’s arm. Vader slowly moves the blade through the floor, terrifying the Changeling with the sound of scorching. The blade gets closer and closer to the Changeling’s arm as he cries and begs until-  
  
“ANAKIN!”  
  
Vader jolts his head in the direction of that voice.  
  
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Ahsoka screams furiously.  
  
Vader deactivates his lightsaber and tells her, “This does not concern you.”  
  
“This is the most concerning thing I’ve seen all day!” Ahsoka contests.  
  
“What do you care if he dies? You did not meet him when he was still innocent,” Vader stupidly says.  
  
That cut Ahsoka deep. Vader had just implied that she only sees someone as worthy of redemption based on her relationship to them. The part of it that hurts the most is not being able to provide evidence that he was wrong.  
  
Ahsoka says, “Whoever he is and whatever he did doesn’t excuse torture!”  
  
“You are so amusing.”  
  
Somehow, Ahsoka can tell that Vader is about to say a lot of things he’s going to regret.  
  
Vader says slightly aggressively, “Blowing up the unsuspecting inhabitance of an entire star destroyer is acceptable, but torturing one man is where you draw your moral line. It is all a necessary evil until I ‘fall back into old habits.’”  
  
“And what’s necessary about torturing him!? It didn’t sound like you had questions.”  
  
“He impersonated my son,” Vader growls. “He tricked me into thinking Luke had turned.”  
  
Ahsoka replies, “I’m sure that was freighting for you, Anakin. But you can’t act on anger like this. Think about the real Luke.”  
  
“I cut the real Luke’s hand off. The real Luke is lost to me. And this fool thought he could get away with tormenting me with his image!”  
  
Vader reignites his lightsaber and, again, moves it toward the Changeling’s arm.  
  
Ahsoka screams, “DON’T . . . MAKE ME . . . KEEP MY PROMISE!”  
  
Vader stops and stares at her, but doesn’t deactivate his lightsaber. Vader knows which promise she’s talking about. He asked her to kill him if it was the only way to keep him from turning to the Dark Side. Ahsoka’s face is stern, but there’s a tear running down her cheek.  
  
Finally, Vader deactivates his lightsaber and gets up, choosing not to torture the Changeling. But Ahsoka can sense that he’s not pleased with himself for doing so.  
  
Ahsoka tells him, “Anakin, I know you’re going through a lot, but revenge is . . .”  
  
“Not the Jedi way?” Vader finishes, a hint of resentment in his voice. Ahsoka remembers well the day he’s referencing. “How hypocritical of you.”  
  
Ahsoka takes his words under serious consideration. “Alright, fair enough.”  
  
Ahsoka takes something out of her pocket and tosses it to Vader who catches it. She had tossed him the detonator for the bombs on the star destroyer.  
  
“There’s no reason for anyone to be on that ship,” Ahsoka explains. “If you blow it up now, no one gets hurt.”  
  
Vader wasn’t expecting this.  
  
Ahsoka continues, “Anakin, I appreciate that you just resisted doing something I didn’t want you to do. So, if you don’t want to blow anyone up, I’ll accept that.”  
  
The weight of everything he just said all comes crashing down on Vader. He insulted Ahsoka after she gave him a second chance because he wanted to take out cruel revenge on someone who was just following orders and then she proved that she is willing to listen him. Vader says with remorse, “Ahsoka, I had no right to speak to you that way.”  
  
“It’s alright. Frankly, I have bigger things to be concerned about. I’m not always going to be there to talk you out of stuff like this,” Ahsoka says strictly.  
  
“You shouldn’t have to. I know you were right to tell me to stop. I’ll remember this next time.”  
  
“I’m going to hold you to that, Skyguy.” Ahsoka points a warning finger at him. “So, uh . . . what’s your decision?”  
  
Vader takes another look at the detonator. He puts it in his pocket and says, “I have decided that the bombs will make the perfect motivation for our prisoners to cooperate with us.”  
  
Ahsoka hates knowing that his plan is both the hard way to do things and perhaps also the right way to do things.  
  
“Now, what do we do with him?” Ahsoka asks in regards to the Changeling.  
  
“Leave him. The Empire will attend to his wounds.”  
  
“But . . . if he meets up with them, he’ll tell them about the bombs.”  
  
Vader shakes his head amused. “No. . . . No, I don’t think he will.” Vader walks toward the door and Ahsoka hesitantly follows.  
  
As they walk, Vader asks, “How did you know where to find me?”  
  
“At first, I could sense that you needed help in this direction. And then I followed the sound of screaming and something being thrown against the walls.”  
  
Vader starts thinking hard. Padme never would have talked to him the way Ahsoka just did. She should have. One day a long time ago, Anakin told Padme about how he took out some very violent revenge and she told him, “To be angry is to be human.” If he was talking to Ahsoka, she wouldn’t have stood for it. Ahsoka isn’t afraid to stand up to Vader. If Padme was more like her, things could’ve ended up a lot better.  
  
Ahsoka has been there for him for everything. She can both comfort him and keep him out of the darkness. She’s clever, she’s formidable, she’s feisty when she needs to be, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful.  
  
Vader looks at Ahsoka and feels something he hasn’t felt in a long time. In time, he sinks into despair. He thinks, “Why would she love me the way I love her?”

  
  
The other inquisitors along with several stormtroopers and an imperial officer find the Changeling.  
  
“I told you this was wrong!” shouts the Chiss. He kneels beside the Changeling and asks, “What happened?”  
  
“He was too weak,” the Togruta says without a shred of sympathy.  
  
The officer tells the Changeling, “You inquisitors were supposed to be able to handle Vader and yet you fail when given everything you needed!”  
  
The Changeling can’t believe what he’s hearing. These imperials are cold to him after he got hurt doing something they ordered him to do in service to an Empire that tortured him into submission. The Chiss seems to be the only one that cares about his beaten and battered state; it speaks to the Changeling that the only one who cares is the only one who clearly doesn’t want to be imperial. It speaks to him even more that Ahsoka, his enemy, showed more compassion than them.  
  
“Did you at least learn any information we can use!?” barks the officer.  
  
The Changeling could tell them about the bombs. But . . . “No. I didn’t learn anything.”

  
  
“Anakin, I need to talk to you before we do anything else,” says Ahsoka nervously.  
  
“What is it?”  
  
Ahsoka takes a moment to figure out how to get the words right. “You . . . You told me that you did terrible things for Padme. And now, you tortured someone over your son. I wish you could have known that they wouldn’t have wanted that. So I’m telling you now that I wouldn’t want that.” Ahsoka wraps her hands around her arms and continues, “I made you a promise that was very hard to make. I want you to make me a promise, too.”  
  
“Anything,” Vader professes.  
  
“I need you to promise me that if it comes down to helping me or doing what’s best for the greater good, you will not put me before the fate of the galaxy. Can you promise me that?”  
  
Vader isn’t so sure if he can always keep such a promise. But Ahsoka did make a hard promise to him. Deep down, he knows that he would be selfish to go against what she asks of him. And this sounds like a condition she’s setting if Vader wants to be close with her. He can’t say no to that. “I Promise,” Vader says, not looking back. He doesn’t want to ruin things with Ahsoka the way he ruined everything with Padme; even if he doesn’t think Ahsoka can love him.  
  
For a while, Vader tries to distract himself from his sorrows by making strategy plans with Ahsoka. But, of course, the more time he spends with her, the more he loves her and the more it hurts to think she’ll never feel the same way. Eventually they split up again, leaving Vader to wallow.  
  
As Darth Vader makes his way through the Post-Separatist Holding Facility, he is tormented by what he is. He constantly hears his suit’s respirator and imagines that Ahsoka can’t stand listening to it for very long. Each step reminds him of how much of his body is mechanical. Who would ever want to be with someone built like him? Ahsoka hasn’t even seen him with his helmet off. And all that is just what’s physically wrong with him. All that emotional comforting might be romantic from Vader’s perspective, but why would Ahsoka want to be with someone so emotionally needy? Ahsoka doesn’t want to go her whole life validating her boyfriend twice a day. She certainly doesn’t want to go her whole life talking her boyfriend out of torture every day. And on top of all that, even if she was interested, Vader’s reputation would make being with him dangerous. If only Vader could be someone she could trust. If only he could be someone who’s good for her.  
  
It wasn’t too long ago when Vader was starting to feel hope. But now he has another reason to despair.  
  
Vader thinks, “At least I can help her. I could never have what I want from her, but I can give Ahsoka an end to this war. I can fight so that she can find freedom and happiness without me. That will be my hope.”

  
  
Ahsoka isn’t sure how to feel about Vader. Or rather she knows how she feels about him, but isn’t sure what she should do about it. Ahsoka is quite fond of him, but . . . she’s not going to date him if he keeps doing stuff like torturing someone for revenge. Ahsoka realizes that what she wants is the person he can become, not him as he is right now. The good news is that Vader is trying to be that person; he wants to be the man she could see herself with and he’s making progress. Ahsoka starts thinking back, wondering if she ever had romantic feelings for Anakin before. She knows for a fact that she wouldn’t have done anything to come between Anakin and Padme. But how would she have felt if Anakin had been single and if she was older at the time? Well, they wouldn’t have started dating immediately in such a timeline. They both annoyed each other when they first met. Maybe she’s asking herself the wrong question. Maybe she only thinks about him that way now because there’s so much that’s different about him. He’s a lot more mature now than he used to be. Ahsoka might give Vader a chance if he can keep from losing his mind all the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are interested, my other fanfiction, Disney Princesses: Extermination is about to be completed. So if you usually prefer to start fanfics after they're finished, you might as well start now.
> 
> Please comment and subscribe.


	9. This Is Going to Be Easy

Vader opens the door, making no attempt to keep his arrival discreet. Imperial staff members are stunned to see him come in. Stormtroopers nervously wonder if they should open fire. Vader hasn’t ignited his lightsaber much to their confusion. Darth Vader slowly makes his way through the room, holding everyone’s attention and scanning them with casually wandering eyes.  
  
“Halt,” a particularly brave stormtrooper says uncertainly, pointing his blaster at him.  
  
Vader still does not ignite his lightsaber. He turns his sights on the stormtrooper and slowly approaches with a cold glare.  
  
The stormtrooper trembles, unable to hold his blaster steady. “By order of the Emperor himself, you are . . . under arrest?” says the stormtrooper. Though it comes out sounding more like a request.  
  
Without diverting his glare, Vader puts a hand on the blaster and pulls until the stormtrooper thinks he has no choice but to let go. Vader holds the blaster tight with both hands, sinking his fingers into the bending metal. He easily snaps the blaster in two with his bare hands and offers the broken pieces back to the stormtrooper. He realizes that Vader is calling the shots in this situation, so he takes the pieces of his blaster, hopelessly trying to figure out what he’s supposed to do with them.  
  
Now that that’s taken care of, Vader heads for one of the terminals where an officer sits and sweats harder and hard as Vader gets closer. Vader looms over the officer and says, “I require your seat.”  
  
The officer acted as if his chair was infested with deadly creatures, leaving it for Vader who sat down in it and pressed a few buttons. Everyone else in the room wondered if they are really just going to stand there and watch him have his way with their terminal. Though no one wanted to be the next person to disturb him.  
  
As Darth Vader gets the terminal ready, he says to everyone in the room, “Valum would be furious if he were to hear that you let me do this.” Everyone is shaken, but they don’t know what to do with that. Vader continues, “It is fortunate then that you were all elsewhere when I broadcast my message.”  
  
Recognizing what he’s telling them, everyone exits the room as quickly as possible, relieved that he is letting them go.  
  
Vader presses the lasted needed button and talks into the microphone for the entire facility to hear. “This is Darth Vader speaking. For years you have served a cruel and heinous Emperor who has kept a great many secrets from you. The Emperor lied when he told you the Jedi were planning to take over. Emperor Palpatine is a Sith lord who orchestrated and manipulated both sides of the Clone Wars to serve his quest for power. There is no reason for any of you to lay down your lives for such an Emperor. I will not stop until I have control of this facility. I would rather not have to kill all of you to do that. I advise every member of this facility’s staff to evacuate to the nearby star destroyer. Valum will order you to stop me; he wishes to send you to your deaths. But I wish to let you leave. You’ve all heard the stories of how dangerous I am. That is this person who will fight until every last one of you is either on that star destroyer or dead.”  
  
Darth Vader stands from the chair, approaches the exit, grabbing his lightsaber off of his belt and igniting it. He expects to see company soon. He walks into a hall and finds dozens of stormtroopers.  
  
“OPEN FIRE!” shouts one of the many troopers that shoot at him. They had their warning.  
  
As he blocks the first few bolts, Vader uses the Force to shatter the nearby light sources, eventually leaving them to fight in the dark. Vader’s superior helmet is equipped with night-vision that gives him the advantage. The stormtroopers can still see Vader due to his lightsaber, but they can barely see each other. As Vader makes his way toward them, they try to back up, often bumping into or tripping over each other. Vader deflects every blast that would have hit him and rushes forward, striking many of them down.  
  
Vader force-pushes them, making them fall over onto each other and struggle desperately to get back up before it’s too late. Vader doesn’t relent as them trample each other in their attempts to back away or even stand. He cuts through two or three of them at a time. Vader finds a stormtrooper on the floor who reaches for his blaster. Vader stomps on the trooper’s helmet, shattering the inferior armor and crushing the skull inside.  
  
The few stormtroopers that remain run through blast-doors and hit the button. Vader steps over the last bodies of this batch and hurries toward his destination. As he goes, Vader can hear another group on their way to him. “Let them come,” Vader thinks as he force-pulls the blaster of a fallen trooper into his hand. Vader enters another, much larger room and walks at a casual pace. He raises the blaster and fires two shots just to make sure his pursuers are going the right way. Vader reaches the exit on the other side of the room and pushes the button at just the right moment. The door starts to close slowly, but Vader still has a good view of the room he just left as hordes of stormtrooper flood in. Fortunately, this particular room was previously rigged with explosives. Vader point the blaster through the remaining opening of the closing door and shoots one of the bombs, blowing up every stormtrooper in the pursuing group. Vader uses the Force to hold back a portion of the explosion that would have sprayed through the door until it closes completely.  
  
Vader moves on. He’s almost there and, based off what he’s sensing, the inquisitors are almost there as well. Vader makes his way to a room with only one entrance. (Apart from the vents that is.) All around are separatist tanks and a few speeders here and there. He stands in the center of the large room and stares at the door, waiting.  
  
Suddenly, the entrance opens to reveal five inquisitors. Behind them is a legion of stormtroopers who wait for their backup to be needed.  
  
The inquisitors ignite their lightsabers and slowly get into varying positions, surrounding Darth Vader. Apparently Kara had brought a spare lightsaber.  
  
Vader didn’t pay as much attention to this one before, since she stayed behind the others and stayed quiet, but there is also a Mon Calamari among them. She seems drained of motivation and emotion, but she also lacks the visable desire to leave the Empire. It seems she has just elected to go through her lot in life mechanically.  
  
“Tell me,” Vader says, “Did your changeling receive the medical attention he required?”  
  
“What do you care!?” Kara growls.  
  
Though the Chiss calmly tells Vader, “He’s alright.” Vader can see that the Chiss holds no ill will toward him. The Chiss seems to believe that Vader cares more about the Changeling than some of the other inquisitors.  
  
Vader says, “Kara, I am truly sorry for what I’ve done to you.”  
  
“SHUT UP!”  
  
“I do not blame you for being angry. Though I wish your forgiveness, I do not expect it. But I do implore you to recognize this opportunity before you. You can leave this life of misery and fight against the Empire.”  
  
The Wookiee lets out a few noises in objection.  
  
“Peace!?” Vader questions in response to the Wookie. “What is peace under the Empire? You should know that the Empire’s idea of peace involves the enslavement of your people.”  
  
The Wookiee growled solemnly.  
  
“Yes, there are bigger things than the fate of a single race. But it is many races that suffer. And none that are safe from the Emperor’s oppression.”  
  
“We are safe from the Emperor’s tyranny,” the Togruta counters, a wicked grin across his face.  
  
“So that is your rationale. I was wondering how you justify such loyalty to an Empire that mistreats your kind. But your reasoning is, not only selfish, but also oblivious. You may have told yourself otherwise, but you are as much a slave those who labor in spice mines. The Empire give you no freedom and the Emperor sees you as disposable.”  
  
“Why are we listening to this!?” Kara demands. “Let’s just kill him!”  
  
The Wookie growls his agreement.  
  
“Well then,” Vader says. “I seem to need someone to come rescue me.”  
  
Taking her que, Ahsoka leaps out from behind a tank and lands next to Vader. She ignites her two white lightsabers. “There’s only five of them? This is going to be easy.”  
  
Vader adds, “There are five inquisitors . . . and the many stormtroopers.”  
  
Ahsoka shrugs. “Yeah, but they don’t count.”  
  
The many stormtroopers felt that one.  
  
Vader force-pushes the Mon Calamari to a distance and approaches the Wookiee while Ahsoka lounges at the Togruta. The Wookiee expected to be able to overpower Vader with his great strength; yet Vader is able to withstand his hardest strikes. The bigger problem is defending against both the Wookiee and Kara at the same time and even that is manageable for him.  
  
Ahsoka has an even easier time. She concentrates mostly on the Togruta while also keeping the Chiss’s attention. The Chiss doesn’t give Ahsoka too much trouble; he is barely fighting her and wishes he didn’t have to at all.  
  
The Mon Calamari rejoins the others and attacks Vader, giving him three inquisitors to fight at once. Ahsoka force-pushes the Chiss; not very hard; just enough to give him an excuse to stay down for a while. Ahsoka positions herself between Vader and the Mon Calamari. The Togruta joins the cluster; that leaves Vader and Ahsoka outnumbered two to one for as long as the Chiss stays out of it. Vader and Ahsoka have an easier time defending themselves than the numbers would imply. Not only are they each of higher skill than any inquisitor, their synergy is also vastly superior. Vader and Ahsoka haven’t fought together in a long time and yet they can somehow feel each other’s movements and sense the other’s plans. They move as if they had rehearsed together; each knowing when to move out of the other’s way or block an attack the other is too busy for. Ahsoka jumps over Vader to get away from one of Kara’s attacks. Ahsoka lands in front of Vader and uses her two lightsabers to lock blades with two inquisitors while Vader turns to fight Kara. Without warning, they both focus on the Wookiee, giving him too much trouble to deal with. In very little time, the Wookiee is given shallow cuts in a leg, arm, and shoulder. The Wookiee falls to the floor, growling in pain, giving Vader and Ahsoka one less inquisitor to fend off at once. Or at least the same number since the Chiss reenters the others out of obligation.  
  
Vader thinks he can handle the Mon Calamari, the Chiss and Kara at the same time. Ahsoka can sense that. She lunges at the Togruta who keeps backing up so far he separates from the others, venturing between two tanks as they fight.  
  
As they fight, Ahsoka shakes her head at him, having heard everything earlier. “You are a disgrace,” says one togruta to another.  
  
The Togruta can barely keep himself alive against Ahsoka. Her defenses are impenetrable, giving him no chance. Every so often, Ahsoka kicks the Togruta in the stomach or even jumps to kick him in the head.  
  
Vader has only one lightsaber to match against the three opponents, but he can still handle them. He slashes at Kara while force-choking the Mon Calamari and when the Chiss comes near, he force-throw the Mon Calamari at the Chiss.  
  
Vader uses the Force to pick up an entire tank and hover it over the fallen Mon Calamari. Then he releases it. The Mon Calamari uses the Force to keep the tank from falling on her, but, unlike Darth Vader, she can’t handle its weight for very long. The Chiss force-pulls her out from underneath the tank just in time to save her.  
  
The Mon Calamari doesn’t thank him. She just decides it’s better to do something other than try to fight Vader right now. The Chiss doesn’t take offence to her lack of gratitude. He knows she hasn’t been very emotionally expressive for a long time.  
  
Ahsoka jumps off of a tank and attacks from above, disorienting the Togruta. When she lands, she attacks, almost taking his head if not for him backing up in time. Though, backing up has lost him his balance. Ahsoka sweeps his leg out from under him. He falls, but is quick to roll and get back up for more. As he continues the battle, the Mon Calamari appears behind Ahsoka out of her sight and closes in on her. Ahsoka barely notices the hum and glow of another lightsaber from behind her and blocks an attack just in time. Ahsoka is better than two inquisitors combined under normal circumstances, but they have her tightly surrounded between lanes of tanks as they both attack at once. Vader can sense this.  
  
Darth Vader can’t see Ahsoka right now. Nor can he see the Mon Calamari and Togruta. (Not with his own eyes at least.)  
  
“Look through my eyes,” Ahsoka whispers as if he were right next to her, surprising even herself with the strange urge to say that.  
  
Vader reaches out and grabs one of the tanks beside them. He jolts the tank at Ahsoka and the Mon Calamari. The difference is that Ahsoka ducks knowingly while the Mon Calamari is struck by the tank. When the tank collides with another, the Mon Calamari’s legs are caught between the rim of one tank and the center of the other. The Mon Calamari’s legs are crushed and the tank is sent flying off as to not land on Ahsoka. The tank lands with a violent crash, but does so far away from anyone.  
  
The Mon Calamari slides off of the other tank, her legs broken. Somehow she shows little reaction to what’s happened to her.  
  
“Whoa,” Ahsoka whispers, uncertain of how they did that.  
  
The Togruta hacks at her furiously. As Ahsoka defends herself, she can see the pure anger in his eyes. The Togruta has shown no sign of being moved by Vader’s words and is opening apathetic to the suffering of others. He even seems to like being where he is in service to the Emperor. Ahsoka doesn’t want to believe that he’s beyond redemption, but she knows it’s beyond her ability to redeem him.  
  
“Do it,” Vader whispers as if they’re right next to each other.  
  
Ahsoka swings at the Togruta with incredible speed and grace. She keeps making him back up all the way back into the view of the others. Ahsoka runs at the Togruta. She deflects his lightsaber to the side, moves around him and stabs him in the back with her second lightsaber.  
  
Kara is stunned to see the Togruta fall. This leaves the Chiss and Kara as the last standing inquisitors. “SHOOT THEM, YOU FOOLS!” Kara screams at the stormtroopers who pour in through the entrance and open fire.  
  
As the blaster bolts fly, the Chiss doesn’t blame Ahsoka for her decision. The Togruta always was the hardest one to be around. And he can sense that the Mon Calamari is still alive. The stormtroopers have intervened, but the Chiss knows that won’t be enough. He sees that this is the opportunity he has always wanted to do what he wasn’t brave enough to do sooner.  
  
Kara ignites the other side of her lightsaber and makes it spin. She throws it at Vader . . . but the Chiss deflects it away from him, showing whose side he has chosen.  
  
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Kara screams.  
  
“Come to your senses, Kara! This is our chance to be free! Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?”  
  
“Not if it means joining him! You know what he’s done to me!”  
  
“And you know you would have done the same thing!” the Chiss counters. The Chiss leaves her, turning his attention to fighting the stormtroopers.  
  
Kara is effected by what the Chiss said. But she still wants revenge and stares at Vader hatefully.  
  
Darth Vader tells Ahsoka, “Leave the Twi’lek to me.”  
  
Ahsoka doesn’t like the sound of that, but she trusts him. She nods and continues to fight the stormtroopers with the Chiss beside her.  
  
Vader runs and Kara gives chase. To give them some privacy, Vader picks up a tank with the Force and throws it through the wall, creating a massive hole he can escape through. Vader jumps through the hole, lands a distance below, and waits for her arrival.  
  
Kara jumps through and faces him in the room where they can be alone together while still hearing the blasters and lightsabers through the hole in the wall.  
  
“Don’t try to ask me again!” Kara demands. “I have come to kill you!”  
  
“You were never going to kill me,” Vader says. “You have no hope of besting me in combat; I have illustrated that quite clearly when last we met.”  
  
“So you’ll just kill me the way she killed the other?”  
  
“That is for you to decide.”  
  
“I choose death; which one of us receives it changes nothing.”  
  
“This is what you have chosen to honor your father?” Vader questions dubiously.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Your father would not want you to die. Nor would he want you to exist as a slave to the Empire. If you wish to fight me out of anger, do not pretend it is for your father’s sake.”  
  
“My father wanted me to be a Jedi. But you took that from me.”  
  
“Then take that back! Who you will be is your choice; not mine, not the Empire’s.”  
  
Kara replies, “I choose to be the one to avenge my father’s death.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to set the record straight in case there's any misconceptions. You might have read this chapter and thought that I was making Vader and Ahsoka a force dyad like Rey and Kylo Ren. This is not the case. I think Rey and Kylo are hallow because their only reason to love each other seems to be that they are mystically bounded by force stuff beyond their control.
> 
> Rey and Kylo only love each other because they have a mystical connection. That's bad.
> 
> Ahsoka and Vader only have a mystical connection because they love each other. That's good.
> 
> In case in interests you, my other story, Disney Princesses: Extermination is finished.
> 
> Thank you for reading. Please comment and subscribe.


	10. Does This Not Bother You?

A stormtrooper throws a thermal detonator at the Chiss who has recently betrayed the Empire. But Ahsoka force-pushes it back, causing it to blow up several stormtroopers instead. Deflecting blaster bolts as they went, Ahsoka and the Chiss took cover behind one of the many separatist tanks.  
  
“Welcome to Light Side,” Ahsoka says, extending her hand. “What’s your name?”  
  
The Chiss accepts her handshake and answers, “Kadin.”  
  
As a showering of blaster bolts keeps Ahsoka and Kadin pined behind the tank, a few stormtroopers help the Wookiee get to his feet and exit the room.  
  
Kadin peeks his head out just enough to see that a few stormtroopers are searching for the Mon Calamari. “We can’t let them take the other inquisitor. I know she doesn’t let it show, but there’s hope for her; just like me.”  
  
Ahsoka replies, “We won’t let them keep her, but your Mon Calamari friend will need their medical attention.”  
  
“What happened to her?” Kadin asks, trying not to come across as angry with Ahsoka.  
  
Ahsoka tells him, “Her legs were crushed. She might even need replacements if the damage is too much to heal.”  
  
Kadin looks to the floor before nodding to show his understanding.  
  
Kadin sees a few stormtroopers carrying the Mon Calamari away and he can’t stand knowing that the Empire will have to hold onto her, as well as the changeling, a little longer. “This is the last time,” Kadin thinks. “This is the last time I let the Empire have its way with them. I’ll get them out of the Empire’s grip if it’s the last thing I do.”  
  
The stormtroopers get the Mon Calamari safely out of the room. That’s their cue. The stormtroopers keeps blaster bolts coming to the left and right of the tank, but that doesn’t change anything. Kadin ignites both sides of his lightsaber and makes it spin. He leaps, lunching himself high above the tank where the troopers were not expecting him to be. He throws his lightsaber in midair and it moves in a curved sweep, cutting down the dozens of stormtroopers in its path. Kadin lands behind a different tank having avoided being hit and catches his lightsaber when it flies back to him.  
  
Ahsoka force-moves a tank in front of a portion of the stormtroopers. She runs out of her cover and blocks the blaster bolts that come from the stormtroopers that still have her in their sights while other can’t see her. Thanks to her tactic making it easier, she makes it to the horde of stormtroopers and starts cutting them down. In doing so, she keeps them distracted enough for Kadin to also make his way to the horde and they fight of the stormtroopers together.

  
  
Kara unleashes her rage against Darth Vader. She swings and thrusts with all her strength and speed. It is not enough. If it weren’t for his reasons to feel bad for her, Vader would have found her attempts amusing. He wishes things could have been different. He wishes she would have joined him in the light. Better yet, he wishes she never went to the darkness. Vader deflects her attack with such power that she stumbles away, just barely avoiding a fall. Their blades lock and Vader hits her head with his helmet. Kara turns around and runs up a wall. She jumps off that wall at a good height and swings at him as she falls. Vader responds to this by easily blocking her strike and punching her in the stomach. She lands less than gracefully and rolls on the floor, losing her grip on her lightsaber. Her weapon deactivates and lands far away. Kara reaches out and pulls the lightsaber toward her. It flies halfway to her . . . and then it stops in midair. The lightsaber is taken by a much stronger hold that leads it into the hand of Darth Vader.  
  
Vader stands over her imposingly. He positions his lightsaber near one side of her neck and her own near the other side of her neck. She never stood a chance.  
  
“Just do it,” Kara says, defeated.  
  
But Vader doesn’t move.  
  
“It is not fair,” Vader thinks. “I was the one to send her to the Empire. Now, she will die at my hand while I pursue happiness? It is not fair.” Darth Vader deactivates both the lightsabers.  
  
Kara gives him a furious look as she stands up. “I already told you I won’t join you!”  
  
“I know,” Vader says.  
  
Kara force-pushes him, but he stays standing as he slides backward. Kara force-grabs a nearby droid and throws it at Vader who merely pushes it to the side. Vader does nothing to retaliate. She throws droid after droid at him. He pushes away three of them. But he changes his mind and lets the next two hit him. Even having taken two droids crashing into him, he remains standing and does not retaliate.  
  
“FIGHT BACK!” Kara screams.  
  
“No.”  
  
Kara reaches out and pulls her lightsaber out of Vader’s hand. She couldn’t have done if he didn’t let her. Kara wonders if Vader is really going to just stand there and take it. She activates both sides of her lightsaber and makes it spin. She throws it in Vader’s direction. Kara doesn’t know if Vader can call her bluff; because he isn’t moving. The lightsaber flies over Vader’s shoulder and slashes the side of his helmet, cracking it open. Vader lets out a yell as he falls to the floor.  
  
Kara still isn’t sure if he knew she was testing him. But it looks like Vader was going to let her take his head off.  
  
Kara approaches Vader, holding her lightsaber with one side ignited.  
  
“Don’t let it be out of hatred,” Vader pleads. “That leads to the Dark Side. If you must strike me down, do so thinking of your father.”  
  
Kara doesn’t know how to reply to that. She raises her lightsaber and stares at him. Vader isn’t fighting back.  
  
“Anakin!” Ahsoka screams, arriving on the scene with Kadin close behind her.  
  
Ahsoka prepares to force-push Kara, but Vader tells her, “No! This is her decision.”  
  
Kara can’t believe what she’s hearing. Darth Vader is giving her the choice of whether or not he dies.  
  
Darth Vader wouldn’t have considered doing this if he thought that Ahsoka needed him. But he already helped her defeat or turn most of the inquisitors. Kadin is on her side now and a considerable percentage of the stormtroopers are dead. Vader thinks with bittersweet melancholy, “She will be alright without me now.”  
  
Ahsoka doesn’t intervene for now. But she’s not about to let Kara kill Vader. Ahsoka watches carefully, waiting for the moment of truth. If Kara tries anything, Ahsoka will force-push her as hard as she possibly can.  
  
Kara keeps staring at Vader who lays propped up on his elbow. Kara actually thinks about what Vader said about her father. She remembers voices from long ago. She remembers her father telling her, “Remember, Kara, you must never kill out of anger. Revenge is not the Jedi way.”  
  
“But, father, the Empire does everyone so much harm. How can I not be mad at them?” She remember asking him as a child.  
  
“I’m not saying you’ll never be angry. But you cannot become a slave to that anger. A Jedi must sometimes make hard decisions. But those decisions must be made for the sake of what’s right; not what our anger tells us to do.”  
  
“But . . . how will I know when the right thing to do and what my anger wants me to do is and is not the same thing.”  
  
“If you ever have trouble figure that out, try setting your anger aside and seeing what feels right then.”  
  
Kara takes a deep breath. She exhales shakily as a tear runs down her face. Kara whispers, “This is for you, father.”  
  
Vader closes his eyes, awaiting the end. But he is surprised to hear the sound of Kara’s lightsaber deactivating.  
  
Kara steps away from Vader. She has chosen to spare him. Ahsoka ceases to be tense, dropping her preparation to take Kara down.  
  
Ahsoka runs to Vader and helps him up. Though Vader doesn’t put much of his weight on her. “How did you know she would do that?” Ahsoka whispers.  
  
Vader replies, “I didn’t.”  
  
“I was afraid of that,” Ahsoka grumbles. “Anakin, I need you to take care of yourself! Don’t just throw your life away like that!”  
  
“I had the upmost confidence in your ability to complete the mission without me. You would have been alright.”  
  
Ahsoka has two very different reactions to that sentiment. Part of her is flattered. But she decides to voice the other feeling brought about by this. “So, you tried to kill yourself because you thought I would just be fine after that?!” Ahsoka asks aggressively. “Did you think it wouldn’t hurt?”  
  
“Ahsoka . . . you will never know the full extent of how much I appreciate the way you care for me. But she is my victim; better for her to decide my fate than someone who cares for me. And besides that, it caused the best result. Kara has turned away from the Empire. What do you wish I did instead?  
  
Ahsoka immediately tells him, her eyes barely open and her arms akimbo, “I wish you would have pretend to do what you did, but be ready to defend yourself if she tried to strike you down.” Ahsoka sighs and says, “Look, I don’t agree with you letting her kill you, but I do understand. I think you and I are just operating with different idea of why you’re supposed to punish crimes.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Vader asks, confused.  
  
“You think that punishing someone is done in service to the victims; that you do it to avenge what happen to them. I might be wrong, but I think the real reason to punish a criminal is to keep them from committing the same crime again.”  
  
Vader thinks for a second and says, “You’re right.” Ahsoka gives him a surprised look. Vader continues, “As you said, you might be wrong.”  
  
Ahsoka can’t help but form a smile. She can tell he’s messing with her. She wants to keep serious, especially since it wasn’t even that good a joke, but it’s good to see him being a little more playful. Ahsoka does her best to conceal her amusement. Not that Vader has already noticed.  
  
Vader tells her more seriously, “Actually, we might both be right.”  
  
Ahsoka crosses her arms and says, “You know, Anakin, I can’t help but remember how we already talked about how the real way to give your victims justice was to help defeat the Empire.”  
  
Vader remembers that conversation, too. He had remembered it when he almost let Kara kill him. Vader realizes something. The real reason he wanted to die was so that he wouldn’t have to feel bad anymore. “You’re right, Ahsoka.”  
  
“Huh?” replies with surprise.  
  
“I have a responsibility to live for. I should have acted based off of what you told me. You clearly know better than I do. I’m sorry, Ahsoka.”  
  
“It’s alright, Anakin.” Ahsoka puts a smirk on her face and says, “Hah! Back in the Clone Wars, I never imaged you would ever tell me that I clearly know better than you do.”  
  
“There is other business to attend to. What happened in the other room?” Vader asks, changing the subject.  
  
“Kadin and I fought off most of the stormtroopers and barricaded the door,” Ahsoka replies, not letting go of her smirk.  
  
“Kadin; that is the Chiss?”  
  
“Yes.” Ahsoka finally loses her smirk and tells Vader, “But we had to let them take the Wookiee and Mon Calamari.”  
  
“So we’ll get them back,” says Kadin who over heard that last sentence.  
  
“Why would you let them get away?” Kara demands.  
  
“The Mon Calamari needs more medical attention than we can give her right now,” Ahsoka explains. “But we’re going to rescue her.”  
  
“We already needed to stage a rescue anyway,” Vader reasons. “The Changeling is still with the imperials. He will need us to liberate him as well; that is, if you think he would join us.”  
  
Kadin tells him, “We can talk him into it now.”  
  
Vader turns to the Twi’lek and says to her, “Kara, you are the only one in this room who Valum believes to still be on his side. Can you trick them into releasing your friends after their medical needs are fulfilled?”  
  
“Yes. I just wish they didn’t need medical attention for their injuries in the first place,” Kara says passive-aggressively, staring daggers at Vader.  
  
“They wouldn’t have been injured if you listened to him from the beginning!” Ahsoka counters.  
  
Kadin puts himself between them and says, “We don’t need to throw blame around. The thing to do is focus on solutions. Kara will go to retrieve our friends. I will go with her, dressed as a stormtrooper in case she needs help.”  
  
“What about the Wookiee?” Vader inquires. “Is there any hope?”  
  
Kadin’s shoulders droop. “I would call Korrfrotuk a wise wookiee if he wasn’t so set in his ways. He might be persuaded, but it’s too risky to try on this mission.”  
  
“I understand,” Vader replies. “May the Force be with you.”

  
  
As soon as the reformed inquisitors are gone, Ahoska takes a good look at the cut in Vader’s helmet. “Anakin, you’re bleeding.”  
  
“It’s nothing,” says a man who is too used to pain for his own good.  
  
“I don’t have the equipment or experience for the Mon Calamari’s injuries. But I’m sure I can patch up a simple cut.”  
  
“NO!” Vader shouts, not in anger; just fear. The thought of the woman he loves seeing his horrible face is terrifying. Vader predicts two possibilities; she might be disgusted by him or she might pity him. Vader doesn’t want her to see him as something to be pitied; he wants her to be impressed by him. “It’s just a cut. It does not require attention.”  
  
Ahsoka rolls her eyes. “You’re going to get an infection, Skyguy! How many times do I need to tell you not to kill yourself?!”  
  
“I should think seven more times should suffice,” Vader jokes, picking up a little more of his old sense of humor.  
  
Ahsoka perks up for a second, but then shakes her head, reminding herself that Vader is being stupid about his cut. She sighs and asks, “How long can you . . . survive without that helmet on?”  
  
“Long enough,” Vader hesitantly admits. “If it will put your mind at ease, I can attend to it myself.”  
  
“Anakin . . . why don’t you want me to see your face?”  
  
Vader freezes in place. He was hoping she wouldn’t ask. “Because you would not like what you would see.” His words are his honest opinion, but his delivery is deceptive. He wanted to make it sound like he’s protecting her from being disturbed, when, really, he’s trying to protect himself from humiliation.  
  
Ahsoka argues softly, “I would see you.”  
  
Vader had more to argue against her with, but it all vanishes from his mind. “As you wish.”

  
  
Vader sits down while Ahsoka sets a few medical supplies on a nearby counter. Ahsoka is suddenly set upon by remorse. “I realize now that I pressured you into this. If you would be more comfortable, you can do this yourself.”  
  
“‘I would see you,’” Vader echoes. “That was not pressure; it was encouragement.” Vader lifts his trembling hands to his helmet. He thinks that Ahsoka will not be able to love him after seeing his face. But he doesn’t think she would have loved him anyway, so he questions how much it matters. Vader removes the top piece and becomes more nervous, realizing that this does matter because he is going to have to see her reaction. Vader sets the top part down grabs the mask, slowly removing it from his face.  
  
Ahsoka sees him. Vader’s skin, if it even is skin, is a pale grey. Deep and protruding scares or perhaps series of scares are along his cheek and near the top of his bald head. Ahsoka tells him, “Honestly, I was expecting a lot worse.”  
  
“Really?” Vader asks, letting Ahsoka hear a slightly more mature version of the voice Anakin had during the Clone War.  
  
“Well, with the way you were trying to hide it, yeah.”  
  
Ahsoka places her hand on his cheek; the cheek with the scares, showing she’s not off put by them. In doing so, she encourages him to lock eyes with her. The last time Ahsoka saw one of his eyes, it had changed to a corrupted orange. But now they have regained their original blue. “At least your eyes are just like I remember,” Ahsoka says, putting Vader at ease.  
  
Vader’s face is not the traditional sort of attractive. And yet, Ahsoka finds ways to see an appeal in it. It was clear that he was strong enough to survive something horrible; there’s something respectable about that. And his scars are a haunting sight, but without any actual fear or disgust, Ahsoka can only enjoy them in the same way one would enjoy a painting of a beast.  
  
The way Ahsoka is looking at him; it’s better than Vader could have wished for. She’s so calm. “Does this not bother you?”  
  
“No, it doesn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Please comment and subscribe.


	11. We Must Hurry

Just as planned, the former inquisitors return to the imperials and observe the recovery of the Changeling and the Mon Calamari. The Changeling has already received a mechanical hand and the Mon Calamari is soon to have a new set of legs. Kara pretends to still be loyal to the Empire while Kadin masquerades as a stormtrooper. They learn quickly that the Mon Calamari might be ready for combat as soon as tomorrow; that is, assuming she can adjust to her mechanical legs in time. It seems as though Kara won’t have to keep up appearances for very long.  
  
During their stay, Kadin finds an opportunity to speak with the Mon Calamari unheard by any stormtroopers. “Luna, it’s me, Kadin.”  
  
“Kadin?” she says drearily. “What are you doing in a stormtrooper uniform? I thought you weren’t working for the Empire anymore.”  
  
“I’m not. And neither are you.” Kadin tells Luna, the Mon Calamari, “Everything is going to be okay soon. We don’t need to help the Empire anymore.”  
  
The Luna says, sounding less emotional than she is deep inside, “But won’t they torture us for being disobedient.”  
  
“No one will torture us ever again.”  
  
“Not even the Togruta?”  
  
“He’s dead now.”  
  
Luna says, “Oh. That’s a relief. He was never nice to me. So . . . we really don’t need to help the Empire anymore?”  
  
“Never again. I promise.”  
  
“Kadin?”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“Do we have to fight for the Rebellion now? I don’t think I want to fight anymore.”  
  
Kadin isn’t sure what to tell her. Is there a place in the galaxy for her apart from the battlefield? Is fighting for the Rebellion the best future she can hope for or can she possibly escape it all? He wants to tell her in an upbeat voice that he’ll do enough fighting for the both of them, but more than that, he wants to be honest with her. “I don’t know. Just hang on a little longer. If there is a way for you to escape having to fight, we’ll find it.”

  
  
Just as Kadin speaks privately with Luna, so too does Kara speaks privately with the Changeling.  
  
“Good news, Tetch; we’re leaving the Empire,” Kara says, not making it sound optional.  
  
“What?” Tetch, the Changeling questions.  
  
“I know this sounds crazy, but we’re joining the guy who cut your hand off.”  
  
“Who else is in on this?”  
  
Kara replies, “Turning sides was Kadin’s idea. He’s trying to talk Luna into it right now.”  
  
“What about the others?”  
  
“We’re not going to talk to Korrfrotuk about this yet and that Togruta of ours is dead.”  
  
“I’m in,” Tetch replies.  
  
Kara is dumbfounded by Tetch’s quick willingness. She thought he would be apprehensive, all things considered. “You . . . are?”  
  
Tetch takes a look at his mechanical hand and says, “I’m surprised Vader didn’t kill me after what I pulled. His accomplice showed me more mercy that the Empire ever did, even when she was supposed to be my enemy. I’m in.”

  
  
Ahsoka gets to work, attending to Vader’s cut. As she looks at Vader’s grey, scare ridden face, she tells him, “You know, there might be surgeries that would help your breathing. Although, they would probably won’t be cheap.”  
  
“The expenses will be no obstacle. I have secret stashes of credits that the Emperor has never known about. My departure from the Empire will not leave me destitute.”  
  
“I can’t imagine how much of a relief it would be for you to not have to keep that bulky suit on all the time. Not that it doesn’t look good on you.”  
  
“It would be nice to be free from the necessity. Though perhaps I’ll keep the suit.” Vader hast to work up the nerve for this next part. “And I must keep the voice modulator . . . since it seems to be such a hit with the ladies,” Vader says, calling back to how Ahsoka said she likes the way he talks now.  
  
Ahsoka stops what she’s doing and raises where her eyebrows would be if she had them. Did Darth Vader just flirt with her? Ahsoka can’t help but laugh, giving Vader a warm look.  
  
Vader wonders if there is any sound sweeter than a woman laughing.  
  
Ahsoka tells him, “Well, the voice modulator is perfect, but you could stand a few upgrades.”  
  
“I know. Such has been long overdue.”  
  
“Let me guess, you never got the upgrades before because misery is the way of the Sith or something stupid like that?”  
  
“Something stupid like that,” Vader replies.  
  
“If those secret stashes are enough for those upgrades, I’d say you’ve got a lot to look forward to.”  
  
This is exactly what Vader needed. The way Ahsoka takes about the possibilities, makes Vader a lot more optimistic.  
  
Ahsoka says, “Oh, if you get that-” Ahsoka clears her throat and tries again. “When you get that surgery to fix your breathing . . . do you think you’ll keep that sound?”  
  
“Keep the . . .” Vader is pleasantly struck by the question. Ahsoka doesn’t even seem to mind the ever present noise of his respirator.  
  
“I mean, you wouldn’t need to keep it on all the time, but it sounds scary; in a good way. You can still use it to intimidate imperials.”  
  
Vader can barely breathe. And not just because his helmet is off. Vader had thought that Ahsoka could never love him because of the damage to his body. But she has seen his face and she isn’t disgusted. She has heard much of his respirator’s sound and she wants to hear more? There is one more category of problem that has him worried. Fortunately, Ahsoka can guess what that is.  
  
“I’ve noticed that your legs aren’t very fast. But that should be an easy fix. With a little work, you might be glad to have mechanical limbs instead of real ones.”  
  
Vader was wrong before. There is a chance.  
  
“All good,” Ahsoka announces, finishing the bandages on Vader’s head.  
  
“Thank you,” Vader says.  
  
“Your welcome.”  
  
Vader wants to tell her right now that he loves her. But he knows he needs to prove himself to her. He has let her down before. He needs to pull himself together if he wants to be good for her. But now he knows he can.  
  
Vader stands and picks up his mask. An hour ago, it would have dishearten him to see those lenses coming to reclaim his eyes. But now he feels no anguish as he puts the mask back on. Next he grabs the top piece and puts it back on.  
  
There’s that sound again.  
  
Vader thinks to himself, “No longer shall I rot in my illusions of hopelessness. This is where I discard my inhabitations. I will prove myself to Ahsoka. No longer will I regard my value as worthless or disposable. I shall rise to the challenges set before me with confidence.”  
  
Over a comlink, Ahsoka and Vader hear Kadin tell them, “Luna and Tetch have agreed to join us. We just can’t get them out of here until tomorrow.”  
  
Vader says, “That gives us more than enough to instill fear.”

  
  
Much chaos.  
  
Vader and Ahsoka go around the facility, fighting stormtroopers. Anyone who doesn’t want to fight is told they can live if they hand over their weapons and agree to flee to the star destroyer. It is almost as if nothing can defeat the combined might of Darth Vader and Ahsoka Tano. Whenever they’re surrounded, they fight back to back, not letting a single blaster bolt hit the other. After a while, they both decide to grab something to eat. The solution is storming a mess hall, clearing out the whole place for themselves. Not only does it give them a private diner, the loss of a mess hall also gives the imperials one more reason to leave. Vader can only eat for so long before he needs to put his helmet back on. He periodically switches between eating and wearing his helmet. Vader wouldn’t let just anyone see him struggle to breathe as he eats, but he feels more comfortable about showing his vulnerability around Ahsoka. Having eaten enough, they go back to hunting for imperials.  
  
They meet a group of over a hundred stormtroopers who have heard the stories of other battles around the facilities. This large group surrenders after losing only a few of their troops.  
  
Vader tells them, “You are wise to lay down your arms. For you are in the presence of the legendary Ahsoka Tano.”  
  
Ahsoka knows that Vader is the one that the stormtroopers are really afraid of. Vader knows that, too. And Vader knows that she knows. But he wants to flatter her and she doesn’t want to stop him. “Ahsoka has defeated Darth Maul and contented with the finest of Sith. She has won more battles than all of you have participated in. I would say Ahsoka could lay waste to twice your numbers blindfolded and with one arm tied behind her back.”  
  
Ahsoka giggles at the way Vader hypes her up.  
  
Vader continues, “I will allow you all to run from her and tell the story of how you were all almost slaughtered by the great Ahsoka Tano if you board the star destroyer. But first, you all must pay your respects. Every last one of you shall say, ‘We love you, Ahsoka.’”  
  
“What!?” Ahsoka burst into laughing at the ridiculousness Vader speaks.  
  
The Stormtroopers look at each other, uncertainly. Soon enough, the imperial stormtroopers start saying with unsteady voices, “We love you, Ahsoka.”  
  
“LOUDER!” Vader commands, his voice booming.  
  
“WE LOVE YOU, AHSOKA!” over a hundred enemy soldiers shout for dear life.  
  
“Good. You may go now.”  
  
Ahsoka puts her hands on her face, laughing uncontrollably. “What was THAHAHAT?!” she asks, smiling all the while.  
  
“That was most effective,” Vader says, proud of himself for getting her to laugh so much.  
  
After a few more hours, Vader insists that Ahsoka get some sleep. He almost presents the idea of letting her sleep while he keeps fighting, but he resists, knowing she wouldn’t have it. They find a safe place and each lay down. Vader offers to find a different room for himself to avoid the sound of his respirator keeping her awake, but Ahsoka insists that she’ll be able to sleep. It takes a bit of complex arrangement, but Vader finds a way to lay comfortably despite the shape of his helmet making things awkward. Vader expects that he won’t actually be able to get any sleep, let alone pleasant sleep. For a few seconds, he worries that troopers might break through the door, but he reminds himself that he’s with Ahsoka and between the two of them, they are safe from whatever attack might come. Just thinking about how Ahsoka is so close to him and that they would protect each other makes his eyelids feel so heavy.  
  
The next thing Vader knows, Ahsoka is shaking his arm, waking him from his sleep. “Good morning.”  
  
“How long has it been?” Vader asks.  
  
“Eight hours. I thought about waking you sooner, but you looked so peaceful.”  
  
Eight hours?! Peaceful?! Darth Vader slept peacefully for eight hours without a hyperbolic chamber?! HOW?!  
  
Vader and Ahsoka consider getting back to hunting for stormtroopers, but they are interrupted by Kadin calling them through the comlink. “We’re ready whenever you are. Luna is still getting used to her new legs, but she can walk. Luna also wanted me to tell you she understands why you crushed her legs.”  
  
“That is good to hear,” Vader replies.  
  
Ahsoka asks, “Do you know where Valum is?”  
  
“He is actually near us.”  
  
“Then our mission is near completion,” Vader says. “We have already lessened their numbers, left them with only one inquisitor, and frightened them with our many victories. Valum’s surrender will be the final straw that will convince them to leave.”  
  
Ahsoka says, “Kadin, wait for us to reach you before talking to Korrfrotuk about leaving the Empire. We don’t want him to warn anyone or attack you guys if he doesn’t want to come with us.”  
  
Kadin tells them where to find Valum and they work out the details of their plan. Vader and Ahsoka leave the room on their way to find Valum. But, suddenly, Vader falls to his knees and puts a hand on his helmet.  
  
“Anakin? What’s wrong?”  
  
“Luke! My son is being tortured!”  
  
All the way from Coruscant, Vader can hear Luke scream, “FATHER PLEASE!” Vader knows that something must have changed if Luke has reestablished their connection. Vader can see tell that Luke knows he has turned to the light.  
  
“Luke! Where are you?!”  
  
Luke doesn’t speak. He can’t talk to Vader about such details with whoever might be with him, administering his torture. Instead, Vader see flashes of images. He sees what Luke saw through a window. Vader knows now where to find Luke. “Luke, I will get you out of there as soon as I can!”  
  
It’s gone. Vader gets back to his feet, unable to see or hear anything from Luke.  
  
Ahsoka looks at him concernedly. “Luke has been captured?”  
  
“I . . . I think the Emperor got to him after you contacted me.”  
  
“We have to rescue him!”  
  
“Ahsoka,” Vader says with a heavy heart, “I can’t stand the thought of Luke spending one more minute with the Emperor, but for we must complete our mission first. This facility could decide the victor of the Galactic Civil War. Luke is strong. He can hang on a little longer. But we must hurry.”  
  
Vader runs as fast as his legs will take him. Ahsoka could travel at twice his pace, but it’s better that they stay together. As they run, Ahsoka thinks about how she expected Vader to want to leave immediately to rescue Luke. It appears that Vader is refusing to put his feelings first before the fate if the galaxy. Vader has taken what Ahsoka said to heart. They both know that Luke wouldn’t want them to sacrifice the mission for him.

  
  
Vader and Ahsoka find a battalion of stormtroopers near Admiral Valum’s location. Vader feels the urge to fight without patience; to rush passed their ranks, but he resists. He wants to finish the mission as soon as possible. But he knows that the best way to help Luke sooner is keep his mind sharp.  
  
As Ahsoka and Vader fight a few rooms over, Admiral Valum is informed that they’re on their way. Valum is just about to leave, but Kara is quick to stop him.  
  
“Admiral, you should stay with me,” Kara says. “I’ll keep you safe from Darth Vader.”  
  
“Then you can accompany me as I leave,” Valum replies.  
  
“We don’t need to run. I’ve defeated Vader once, I can do it again,” Kara says, taking advantage of Valum’s lack of information. “Besides, it’s better for us to stay here behind the stormtroopers’ line of defense.”  
  
Korrfrotuk tilts his head to the side. He grumbles something at Kara as he points first at Valum and then at a door.  
  
Kara tells him, “Fine, I will.”  
  
Korrfrotuk marches out, leaving Valum with only Kara and a hand full of stormtroopers.  
  
“What did the wookiee say?” Valum asks.  
  
“He told me there would be consequences if I didn’t keep you alive,” Kara lies. She points to the same door Korrfrotuk had pointed to and says, “He also told me to watch the exit just in case.”  
  
“I see,” Valum says, walking around to his desk. He pulls out a blaster from his hiding place and shoots Kara in the back without hesitation.  
  
Valum knows Korrfrotuk’s language. The real purpose of asking Kara for a translation was to test her honesty.  
  
Kara falls to her knees, growling through gritted teeth and grabbing her lightsaber. She ignites the blade just in time to deflect the next bolt. She knows they need Valum alive, so she redirects the bolt at a stormtrooper instead.  
  
Valum races toward the exit while shouting to the other troopers, “Kill her!”  
  
Kara force-pulls a desk in front of her to act as cover. The stormtroopers open fire on the desk and her cover is broken in half by blaster bolts. Kara needs to act fast. She force-pushes the two halves of the desk to each crash into a respective stormtrooper. There is only one trooper remaining and Kara manages to deflect a blaster bolt back at him. Kara leans against the wall, miserable with pain. She grabs her comlink and tells the others, “Valum is getting away! He figured out I’m a traitor and shot me!”

  
  
Valum has a lot to think about as he runs. How can he stop Darth Vader at this point? Valum thinks, “There’s no telling how many of those inquisitors have betrayed the Empire. I already have the Chiss and the Twi’lek confirmed. The only one I know is still loyal is the Wookiee. I might not have enough troops left to take care of them all. At least not willing troops. I’ve been hearing stories for two days about how many of them are dead and how the survivors are begging to leave.” Valum reaches a door and opens it with his cylinder; the only cylinder compatible with this room. He rushes in and finds an electrostaff mounted on the wall. Electrostaffs were used by magna guards back in the days of the Clone Wars; most famously by the body guards of General Grievous. Electrostaffs such as this one are capable of blocking a strike from a lightsaber, giving its wielder a fighting chance against a Jedi. Valum takes the electrostaff staff off of the wall and activates its pulse-generating tips. Valum has made sure that this weapon is still in good condition. But this weapon won’t be enough. Valum has dabbled in practicing with the electrostaff, but he cannot best any force-user in this facility and he would be a fool to think otherwise. “If only I could have gotten the Emperor’s permission to reprogram a few magna guards for my protection.” It sinks in for Valum that he is going to lose the Post-Separatist Holding Facility to Darth Vader. The staff isn’t going to change that.  
  
“But maybe I don’t need to win the battle to help win the war,” Valum thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kara, you had one job!
> 
> I've noticed that in a few other fanfictions about Vader redeeming himself, they tend to have Anakin go back in time and, in the process, undo his damage and regrow his limbs. I actually originally planed to have Vader go to a magic pool that can heal Light Side Force-users or kill Dark Side Force-users, but I decided to throw out that idea away because it was a very unrealistic solution to a very realistic problem. Don't get me wrong, I love stories with a lack of realism and I'm nowhere near being the realism police.
> 
> So the question is . . . what's more unrealistic? Magic time travel that regrows your limbs or a woman that wants to date a man that looks like that? I'M JOKING, I'M JOKING! CALM DOWN!
> 
> I feel like the magic time travel that takes away your physical flaws sends the message that you need to not have physical flaws to have a romantic relationship. And magic time travel isn't a real world thing so that might send the message that there aren't real ways for them to be happy in real life. I think the idea that you can find someone who isn't as bothered by your physical flaws is a much healthier message to send. It's more romantic if those Vader's scars are never going away and Ahsoka still loves him.
> 
> I mean, I understand the counter argument to this decision. From an eye-candy perspective, you might be asking, "But, MVP, why is it that we're always hearing about how hot the girl is and yet the boy looks like a broken gargoyle wrapped in a death robot?" And I will legitimize that question. There is kind of an imbalance in the eye-candy. Maybe I'll have Kadin take his shirt off or something.
> 
> Thank you for reading. Please comment and subscribe.


	12. More Complicated Than That

The situation seems dire. Kadin just heard Kara say over the comlink that she’s been shot and Valum is getting away. Kadin rushes to find Kara with Luna right behind him. Seeing Kadin first, Kara points her lightsaber at him threateningly, mistaking him for a stormtrooper.  
  
“Easy! It’s me!” Kadin says, taking the helmet off.  
  
Kara deactivates her lightsaber, lowering her head. Kara is sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall.  
  
“She doesn’t look so good,” Luna comments, though she doesn’t sound as emotional as she is. “She needs bacta for her wound. It’s a good thing there’s a bacta tank not far from here.”  
  
Kadin replies, “Help me get her up.”  
  
Kadin and Luna each grab one of Kara’s arms and help her to her feet. They each put Kara’s arms around their shoulders to take some of her weight.  
  
Suddenly, they hear Valum’s voice from multiple speakers. “Attention! The Twi’lek inquisitor has betrayed the Empire. She is to be shot on sight with no warning!”  
  
“Well, that’s going to make getting to the bacta tank tricky,” Luna says.  
  
“Luna, you help Kara walk,” Kadin says, taking Kara’s arm off his shoulder. Luna can take the extra weight partly thanks to her mechanical legs. Luna holds Kara’s wrist with one hand to keep Kara’s arm around her shoulders and she puts her other hand around Kara’s waist.  
  
Kadin doesn’t want anyone else to mistake him for a stormtrooper. There is a slight chance that taking off his helmet won’t be enough of a distinction, so he decides the shirt will have to go as well. Kadin quickly rips off the upper armor pieces and proceeds to remove the shirt, letting everyone see much of his blue skin; including his impressive arms and abs. Kadin ignites his lightsaber and says, “I’ll handle the ‘tricky’ part.”  
  
“What about Valum?!” Kara blurts out. “He’s getting away!”  
  
Kadin grabs his comlink and says, “Tetch, we need your help!”  
  
“I was about to say the same thing to you!” Tetch replies.  
  
Over the comlink, they hear a wookiee’s roar accompanied by the sound of clashing lightsabers. Tetch has obviously gotten in a fight with Korrfrotuk. Apparently he was unsuccessful in talking Korrfrotuk into joining them. Kara won’t last long with that hole in her back and Tetch won’t last long against Korrfrotuk.  
  
Kadin says into the comlink with panic, “Vader, Ahsoka, you need to hurry!”

  
  
Darth Vader stands in front of closed blast-doors and holds out his hands. He slowly moves his hands to the sides, forcing the blast doors to creek and bend, unable to resist Vader’s power. Within seconds, the blast doors open up far enough for them to get through. On the other side, Korrfrotuk is dueling with, and about defeat, Tetch. Vader force-pushes Korrfrotuk, preventing a final blow.  
  
Vader says, “Ahsoka, find Valum. Tetch, help Kadin with the remaining stormtroopers. I will deal with Korrfrotuk.”  
  
Ahsoka and Tetch each nod and run out of the room.  
  
Vader tells Korrfrotuk, “I know your motivations are to bring peace. But true peace has never existed under the Empire’s rule. If there were no Rebellion, the Empire would still wage war against the rights of its citizens.”  
  
Korrfrotuk mournfully shakes his head and makes a few noises.  
  
“You are wrong; the Empire CAN be defeated. It is almost so!”  
  
Korrfrotuk growls a question.  
  
“‘And then’ we would restore the Republic. We would bring security without oppression.”  
  
Korrfrotuk makes more noises.  
  
“There may be obstacles, but very few outcomes would be worse than the current status quo.”  
  
Korrfrotuk growls and readies his lightsaber.  
  
“Very well.”  
  
Korrfrotuk swings at Vader, but he has no chance against him. Vader fights back with ease. Korrfrotuk has been given a generous number of chances. Now he will face the consequences of his decisions. Korrfrotuk swing downward and their blades lock. Korrfrotuk puts his considerable weight on the locked blades, but this doesn’t seem to bother Vader.

  
  
Kadin keeps Kara and Luna protected as they make their way down the halls. A group of stormtroopers arrives, but Kadin is ready for them. Kadin runs at them, igniting his the second side of his lightsaber, and drops to his knees. As he slides on his knees, he holds his lightsaber high and makes it spin, cutting through the stormtroopers as he passes them.  
  
The stormtroopers drop, many of them in pieces and Kadin stands back up. Kadin is happy to do all the fighting for Luna and Kara. He doesn’t want Luna to have to fight anymore.  
  
“We’re almost there,” Luna tells Kara. “Just a little further.”  
  
“Aren’t you glad Vader didn’t kill me?” Kara asks both drearily and sarcastically. “I mean, I’ve been a lot of help, haven’t I? I had one job; to make sure Valum doesn’t leave, and I kept him there for a whole minute.”  
  
If Kadin had overheard Kara’s sarcastic comments, he would have told her not to talk like that. But Luna has no idea what to say to Kara. She hates not being able to talk to Kara like a normal person would. Luna wishes she could say that Kara shouldn’t be so hard on herself, but she can’t find the words. So she stays quiet and saddened.  
  
“Now, you’re stuck carrying me and Kadin is stuck protecting me,” Kara continues. Kara’s voice gets even weaker as she says, “You guys should . . . definitely keep me around for . . .” Kara’s voice ceases and her head droops lower. Her feet move sluggishly for just a few more steps before She can’t walk enough.  
  
“Kara? Wake up, Kara.” Luna says in vain. Luna keeps her arm around Kara’s waist and lifts her legs with the other arm. Luna continues down the hall, carrying Kara in her arms. Luna’s mechanical legs could take the weight for days, but her arms find this strenuous. Kara’s limp arm dangles as Kara moves as fast as she can.  
  
Kadin rushes into the med-bay and points his blade at the nearest medical droid. “You have a patient that needs your help.”  
  
Not taking the time to remove Kara’s clothes, they get her into the bacta tank as soon as she has a breathing mask on. Through the glass, Luna and Kadin see Kara’s limp body in the bacta. She still might not make it.  
  
Luna fidgets with her hands and says, “You can die yet, Kara. You told your father you would become a Jedi. You still need to do that.”  
  
It’s not much, but Kara’s hand slowly closes into a fist. A sign of her resilience, perhaps?  
  
Kadin says, “I need you to stay with her. I’m going back out there. Lock the door and don’t open it until I come back.”

  
  
Choosing Ahsoka as the one to hunt for Valum was a smart decision. She is the second best fighter in the group and the single fastest. As she runs, she only finds a few stormtroopers. She barely even slows down as she cuts through them. She strikes them with precision and speed, never losing her pace.  
  
Valum expects to see her soon. He could escape, but he can do more damage here.  
  
Ahsoka only stops running once she turns the corner to find him. “There you are,” Ahsoka says. “You’re coming with me.”  
  
“Unavoidably. But not yet,” Valum replies, activating his electrostaff.  
  
Ahsoka gives him an incredulous look and shrugs. “Well, you asked for it.”  
  
Ahsoka rushes at him, clashing her lightsabers repeatedly against the electrostaff. Valum’s only advantage is that Ahsoka needs to bring him in alive. She could kill him quickly otherwise, but her priorities buy Valum a little time.  
  
Valum manages to get some distance from her and says, “Very good. I can see why Vader wants you at his side when he rules the galaxy.”  
  
“He is not trying to rule the galaxy!”  
  
Valum put on a wicked smirk. “Are you sure?”

  
  
Korrfrotuk makes his lightsaber spin and throws it at Darth Vader who knocks it away. The lightsaber curves in the air on its way back to Korrfrotuk, but Vader quickly throws his own lightsaber. Vader’s blade flies with precise aim, cutting through the hilt of Korrfrotuk’s lightsaber. Vader’s lightsaber flies back to him, but Korrfrotuk is left without a weapon.  
  
“Yield,” Vader demands.  
  
But instead, Korrfrotuk puts up his fists.  
  
“Willing to fight without a weapon, are you? So be it.” Vader deactivates his lightsaber and puts in on his belt. He too puts up his fists.  
  
Vader throws a right cross at Korrfrotuk, but he blocks the attack and punches Vader in the helmet. There is no visible dent, but, if nothing else, Vader is staggered. Being a wookiee, Korrfrotuk actually has the strength to have a chance against Vader in a battle of fists.  
  
Korrfrotuk grabs Vader’s shoulder with one hand and, with the other hand, he punches Vader in the stomach, where there is less armor.  
  
Being so close to his opponent, Vader grabs the hair on Korrfrotuk’s head and pulls it close so he can knock his helmet against it.  
  
Changing his strategy, Korrfrotuk tries to strangle Vader, but his helmet makes that nearly impossible. With Korrfrotuk hands still trying in vain to strangle him, Vader punches Korrfrotuk in the stomach multiple times until he finally lets go and backs up.  
  
Despite being a whole foot shorter than the towering wookiee, Vader wails on Korrfrotuk, hitting him hard again and again. Korrfrotuk throws a punch and instead of guarding in a traditional manner, Vader throws his own punch and their fists collide with each other. Korrfrotuk roars with pain, cradling his agonized hand. Meanwhile, Vader’s fist has no damage.  
  
In desperation, Korrfrotuk runs at Vader, about to tackle him. Vader activates the magnets in his mechanical feet and braces himself. When Korrfrotuk crashes into him, he barely even moves. Vader raises both fists and hammers them onto Korrfrotuk’s lowered back, causing him to collapse on to the floor. Vader raises his foot above Korrfrotuk’s gut and stumps down, but Korrfrotuk rolls out of the way and gets back up.

  
  
Because Ahsoka is trying to take Valum alive, she relies on an alternate strategy for fighting him. Instead of attempts to cut him in half, her attacks are meant to tire him out. She uses her dual lightsaber to attack with little effort in varied location, making Valum swing his electrostaff all over the place and making him exert himself more than she is.  
  
“How can you be sure of Vader’s intensions?” Valum questions.  
  
“I’m sure because I trust him.”  
  
“Did he even tell you in detail what his plans are? If he wants to topple the Empire, he must want to replace it with a new order. Who do you think he wants to be in charge of that order?”  
  
Ahsoka never thought about it that way. Vader never told her he didn’t want to rule the galaxy.  
  
Valum tells her, “It’s a very dangerous idea to trust a Sith. Lying to a potential apprentice is their way.”  
  
Ahsoka’s blood runs cold. It’s obvious that Vader had originally wanted Luke to be his Sith apprentice. What if Vader chose Ahsoka as his replacement Sith apprentice after Luke didn’t come to him? What if everything Vader’s been saying has been an act? If it was an act, if Vader is still a Sith, wouldn’t he be doing exactly what he’s been doing?  
  
“It’s interesting that this was his plan, isn’t it?” Valum asks. “He came straight here to steal any army of his own.”  
  
Ahsoka tells Valum, “He wants to give this army to the Rebellion.” But she thinks to herself, “Doesn’t he? Of course he does! I couldn’t reprogram the droids. He needs to call the Rebellion and have them . . .” A horrifying revelation dawns on Ahsoka’s. “Waaaaiit. Didn’t Anakin tell me something about how he built AND PROGRAMED his own droid?” Ahsoka shut her eyes tight for a moment, frustrated that she never thought about it sooner. “HE DOESN’T NEED TO CALL THE REBELLION! HE CAN REPROGRAM THE DROIDS HIMSELF!”

  
  
Korrfrotuk’s face is a mess with wounds and blood while Vader shows little damage. Vader uppercuts Korrfrotuk. He grabs Korrfrotuk’s fur and pulls him down to his knees. Korrfrotuk puts his arms in front his face to protect himself which doesn’t work because Vader kicks him in the chest, sending sliding across the floor. Korrfrotuk lies down, panting heavily. Vader considers killing Korrfrotuk, but he doesn’t want to kill someone while he’s unarmed. Vader steps forward with plans to render Korrfrotuk unconscious.  
  
Korrfrotuk looks through the open blast doors and sees a blaster lying next to a fallen stormtrooper. He bounds to his feet, force-pulls the blaster into his hands, and shoots at Vader who ignites his lightsaber and deflects the bolts into Korrfrotuk’s shoulder and leg. Korrfrotuk has not dropped the blaster. He isn’t unarmed.  
  
Vader rushes him and, with a quick swing, slices all the way through Korrfrotuk’s torso. Now, he drops the blaster.  
  
Vader watches as Korrfrotuk falls and the two halves of his body separate.

  
  
Ahsoka has sufficiently brought Valum to fatigue. Now is the time to finish their battle. Ahsoka rushes at Valum, prompting him to hold up his electrostaff in defence. Surprisingly, Ahsoka actually deactivates both her lightsaber and puts them on her belt. She grabs Valum’s staff with both hands and pushes it into a collision with his head. Ahsoka jumps onto Valum, positioning her feet on his chest. She jumps off of him, pushing him to the floor and ripping the staff out of his hands as she rises. While in midair, Ahsoka casts the electrostaff aside and reignites her lightsabers. She lands with her feet on each side of Valum’s torso and positions her lightsaber near each side of his neck. “It’s over.”  
  
“It is,” Valum solemnly agrees. “I had tried so hard to keep the galaxy safe from an army led by Darth Vader.”  
  
“Right, because you care so much about the galaxy’s freedom,” Ahsoka says sarcastically. She steps away from him and points a single lightsaber in his direction. “Just get up and walk,” she commands.  
  
Valum does what he’s told, confident that he has already done his damage. As Ahsoka escorts him back toward the others, she keeps up a stern attitude, trying to pass off her worry as contempt. Ahsoka knows what Valum was doing. He was trying to get her to distrust Vader. But just because she knows what he’s doing, that doesn’t mean it won’t work. Ahsoka finds Kadin and Tetch standing in front of large group of defeated stormtroopers who sit with their hands behind their backs.  
  
“Nice job,” Ahsoka says. “I’ve got one more prisoner for you.” Ahsoka makes Valum sit among the stormtroopers. She asks Kadin, “Where are the others?”  
  
“Kara is recovering in a bacta tank. Luna is staying with her. Vader has been taking portions of our prisoners to actually cells on the star destroyer. He should be back for the rest of them in minute now.”  
  
Ahsoka nods, having listened to Kadin, yet her eyes stare off at nothing.  
  
“Are you alright?” Kadin asks.  
  
Ahsoka is made nervous by the question. She isn’t alright, but she can’t tell him what’s on her mind. “I’m fine,” she says, making an effort to make herself look composed and focused. Trying to take attention away from her emotional state, Ahsoka searches her mind for a change of subject. She quickly realizes there is a perfect topic to bring up, knowing that she would have thought to ask sooner if she wasn’t so distracted. “What happened with Korrfrotuk?”  
  
Kadin bows his head and his shoulders drop. “He . . . would not turn,” Kadin says sorrowfully. He has said as much as he can without tearing up.  
  
“I see,” Ahsoka replies. “Will you excuses me for a minute?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
Ahsoka wants more details, but she won’t put Kadin through the agony of telling her. She will just have to take a look at the body herself.

  
  
Kara’s wound still stings, but it isn’t life-threatening anymore and she doesn’t want to spend any more time in the bacta tank. Being drenched in bacta, Kara shivers and feels extra weight as she slushes with every step.  
  
Luna points to an outfit consisting of simple, black tights on a counter and explains, “Tetch brought a change of clothes for you. I think it’s what the stormtroopers where under their armor.”  
  
Kara sighs and says, “Thanks. I can’t wait until we don’t have to where imperial junk anymore.”  
  
Luna looks down at her own inquisitor uniform and adopts Kara’s sentiment. “Before you change, you should probably shower. You’re dripping bacta everywhere.”  
  
“Shower?” Kara asks incredulously. “We have time for me to shower?”  
  
“Why not? Ahsoka has beaten Valum, Vader has beaten Korrfrotuk, Kadin and Tetch are keeping an eye on the prisoners. There’s no need for you to do anything besides shower right now.”  
  
Kara lets out her breath. “Typical. Everyone else is being helpful and I’m going to take a shower.” She doesn’t like the idea of slacking off while the others get work done; especially after she had been so unhelpful during the battle. But she concedes that Luna has a point. Everyone else has things covered.  
  
Luna leads Kara to the shower and gives her some privacy, leaving her change of clothes nearby. Kara winces a few times, feeling the lingering sting of her wound as she removes pieces of her uniform. She sheds every part of the ensemble, never to be worn again. Kara turns on the shower and steps in, letting the warm water wash the cold bacta off of her body. As she wipes off the lingering residue with her hands, her mind reflects on how little she has accomplished. She was supposed to help people as a Jedi, but she never did. Kara is weighed down by the longing to become someone the galaxy is better for having. She feels like she’s never really contributed in any meaningful way. She wants that to change. Kara wants everything to change. She wants to reinvent herself, become something greater. It keeps hurting her that she might have to wait a bit longer for that. It keeps nagging at her that after she’s done showering, she’ll have to put on imperial clothing once again. But wait . . . an idea occurs to Kara. “Luna?!” she calls out, uncertain if she will be heard.  
  
Luna replies, “Yes?!”  
  
“Do you think you might be able to find me some scissors?!”

  
  
Ahsoka finds the room in which she had last seen Korrfrotuk. As soon as she sees the body lying in two pieces, she freezes in horror. Korrfrotuk’s face is blooded and beaten. His lightsaber has been destroyed. Ahsoka wonders, “Did Anakin pulverize a disarmed opponent? And did he kill an unarmed opponent after pulverizing him?”  
  
This looks bad. And Ahsoka couldn’t have picked a worse time to see it. Ahsoka’s pulse rattles her body and her breathing becomes heavy. She isn’t fully convinced of anything, but her imagination tells her a tale of Vader pulverizing a defenseless wookiee and threating to kill him if he didn’t join Vader’s new empire.  
  
“This isn’t what it looks like!” Ahsoka mentally screams at herself. “Don’t be petty, Ahsoka. You killed one of the inquisitors, too.” Ahsoka takes another look at the two halves of the battered corpse and thinks, “Yeah, but he didn’t look like THAT when I was done with him!” Ahsoka shakes her head and tries to calm herself down. “I’m freaking out about nothing. I’m sure once I talk to Anakin about what happened, I’ll feel silly for ever being worried.”

  
  
Luna is first to join Kadin and Tetch in guarding the prisoners. Kadin asks her, “How is Kara doing?”  
  
Luna explains, “She’s doing alright. . . . Kara looks different now.”  
  
“Different? Different, how?”  
  
Luna point at Kara as she approaches and says, “Different like that.”  
  
Kadin’s eyebrows jump when he sees her. Kara has modified the black tights to be . . . better. The lower portion of her shirt has been cut off to show her midriff. There are oval shaped cutouts on the sides of her things and, best of all, there is a cutout in the shape of an upside-down triangle to display some cleavage.  
  
Kadin tells her, “Wow. You look . . .”  
  
“Like a Twi’lek?” Kara guesses, a smirk across her face. “It’s a bit makeshift, but it will do for now.”  
  
“I think it could do forever,” Kadin says, not really trying to flirt, just trying to boost his friend’s confidence.  
  
“So, what happened to Korrfrotuk?” Kara asks, having spent her time healing in a bacta tank, taking a shower, and modifying her outfit.  
  
Tetch knows that Kadin doesn’t like to talk about it, so he steps in for him. “Vader cut him in half.”  
  
Kara sighs through her nose. “He better have given him a chance first. If I deserved a second chance, so did Korrfrotuk.”  
  
“He tried, but you know how stubborn that wookiee could be.”  
  
Kara nods begrudgingly. “So it’s just the four of us then.”  
  
Tetch asks, talking to the entire group, but mostly to Kadin, “What’s next for us?”  
  
“We’re going to fight the Empire, of course,” Kara replies in a matter-a-fact tone.  
  
Kadin notices Luna’s face fall. He tells the others, “But we don’t all have to fight any more if we don’t want to. I want to fight them, but Luna can . . . we’ll figure it out.”  
  
Luna asks, “But how will any of us be safe from the Rebellion? If I don’t join them, they won’t want to pardon me for helping the Empire.”  
  
Kadin replies, trying to be reassuring, “I can make your pardon apart of my agreement with the Empire. Adding a Jedi like me to the war effort will be worth more than one pardon.”  
  
Kara says with a heavy heart, “Luna doesn’t have anyone she can go to other than us. And I’m not sure she’s ready to be on her own.”  
  
Luna doesn’t argue with the statement. Kadin and Tetch don’t know how to argue with the statement either. They all know that Luna is not all there. Kadin suggests to Luna, “Maybe you could stay with us and contribute in other ways. For one thing, you’re good at fixing stuff.”  
  
“I guess,” Luna replies, dubious about Kadin’s plans.  
  
“We’ll . . . we’ll figure it all out,” Kadin says. “For now, we have a mission to wrap up. We at least know what to do until that mission is over. We’ll tell the Rebellion about the facility, bring them a star destroyer full of prisoners, and get our pardons.”

  
  
Once Vader returns, Ahsoka requests to speak with him while the former inquisitors escort the remaining prisoners.  
  
Ahsoka and Vader are left alone. “You seem troubled.” Vader pointes out.  
  
“I . . . I was just wondering what happened with Korrfrotuk,” Ahsoka says, trying to make it sound like no big deal.  
  
“I tried convincing him to join us, but it was no use.”  
  
Ahsoka tries to sound like she’s just looking for a fun story as she asks, “He uh . . . He looked like he’d been trampled by gundarks. How’d that happened?”  
  
“After I destroyed his lightsaber, he refused to yield. I didn’t want to kill an unarmed opponent, so I granted him his request for us to fight with our fists.”  
  
Ahsoka’s eyes scan Vader looking for any kind of damage, but coming up short. It is hard to find a difference from how he looked before the fight. “You beat a wookiee in a fist fight?” she asks, failing to keep the doubt out of her voice. Ahsoka is cursed with knowledge. She saw how well Vader could deceive the imperials when he convinced them that Ahsoka was his programmer. Had he been lying to her this whole time, too? Is she just now finding holes in his stories that she should have seen sooner?  
  
Ahsoka says, “It’s interesting that you said you didn’t want to kill an unarmed opponent, because when I found him, he was kind of dead.”  
  
“Yes, he was not unarmed when I killed him. Perhaps you noticed the blaster next to his remains?”  
  
“Right, the blaster.” Ahsoka hadn’t noticed the blaster. But there must have been one there. Either Vader is telling the truth and the blaster is there for the stated reason . . . or he’s lying and he planted it there to sell his story. And what a story it is! Vader claims that he chose to deactivate his lightsaber to fight an enemy who wouldn’t yield despite being unarmed? And then that enemy reached for a new weapon, excusing his own execution after he’d been beaten twice? This story sounds unlikely.  
  
The funny thing is that Vader has in fact told an accurate account of the events, but the accurate telling of the story sounds unlikely.  
  
Vader detects a hint of doubt from Ahsoka. “Is something wrong?” he asks.”  
  
“No,” she says almost meekly. “I just . . .” Ahsoka is hesitant, but she wants to do a little investigating to confirm or deny her suspicions. Valum had presented the idea of Vader wanting her to be his Sith apprentice. “I’ve been wondering something. Do you . . . consider me your apprentice . . . again? I mean, you know, do you think that you’re mentoring me again?”  
  
Vader’s hesitation to respond makes Ahsoka anxious. He just stands still for a few seconds until finally he speaks. “I think it is more complicated than that.”  
  
“Oh?” Ahsoka says, inviting him to go on.  
  
“When we first met, I did not consider you to be someone I could learn from. I was your teacher and you my student. It was simple back then. When you appeared to me on the moon of Endor, I was lost. Now, we each guide the other. You have kept me in the light and soothed my pain while I have composed our plans.”  
  
Ahsoka sees what he means. Vader has been the one who knew about this facility and the inquisitors’ pasts. And Vader’s plans are working well. Having Ahsoka pose as a programmer, leaving Tetch to the Empire’s care, trying to redeem the inquisitors, springing Ahsoka’s presence on the unsuspecting enemies, and scaring the stormtroopers into leaving were all Vader’s ideas. And Ahsoka has brought Vader back to the light, refused to let him torture for revenge, repeatedly helped him emotionally, and given him the hope that he desperately needed.  
  
Vader tells her, “I would like to think that you and I have each become the other’s apprentice and each become the other’s master.”  
  
Ahsoka has forgotten all about the wookiee whose body lays in two piece. She has abandoned her suspicious and doubts. No Sith lord would propose such an arrangement. She is captured by this concept that has her soul screaming, “YES!” Ahsoka wants this. Her heart is racing with exhilaration as she thinks about having Vader as her master AND her apprentice. She tells him with a smile, “I like the sound of that. Maybe, half the time, I could be the one to tell you I had the situation under control after you clearly save my life.”  
  
Vader chuckles at her joke that calls back to old times. “And perhaps I could make you glad I stowed away on a mission against your wishes.”  
  
“Be mindful of your impulses, my old apprentice.”  
  
Vader and Ahsoka chuckle together, seeing the comedy in their proposed arrangement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a few announcements for you all. Star Wars: The Unending will officially get two more chapter, bringing the final total to 14 chapters. I have actually already written them both. I just need to proofread them and put on the finishing touches. I'll still be releasing the chapters on a once a week basis, so this story will end on January 30th.
> 
> You might be wondering what's next for me. Well, funny story . . . I've actually made up my mind that I'm going to be taking a break from writing fanfiction until sometime in March. I want to take some time to focus on my actual novel. When I first started writing fanfiction, I envisioned it as being a side project with my novel being my main writing project. What ended up happening is my novel became the side project to my fanfictions. I got into the routine of having a daily word count for writing fanfiction and I was writing fanfiction at a faster pass than I had ever been writing my novel. I want to get into that kind of rhythm with writing my novel now. The question many of you might have on your mind is "Will there be a sequel to Star Wars: The Unending?" I am going to give that a strong "probably." I actually think it is bad writing to have the main couple only get together right before the end of the saga. So since Star Wars: The Unending will be ending soon, I would be breaking my own rules if I didn't write a sequel. Without spoiling anything, there is certainly room for a sequel after this story. BUT IT WON'T BE NOW! Let me be clear that Star Wars: The Unending 2 would not be my next story. The reason I'm coming back specifically in March is because I'm hoping I will love Raya and the Last Dragon enough to write a fanfiction about that story. If I don't end up liking Raya and the Last Dragon, I will write a different fanfiction, but either way, I'll be coming back in March. I actually already have a back up plan in case Raya and the Last Dragon doesn't work out for me. I have a very interesting idea for a Power Rangers story. If, by any chance, some of you might be interesting in reading another story from me, but you are not familiar with Power Rangers, that won't be a problem. The way I would be writing this story, you would be able to understand it even if it were your first exposure to Power Rangers.
> 
> I can't stress this enough; if you are interested in a sequel to this story, make sure you're subscribed to me, not just the story.
> 
> Thank you for reading.


	13. Rescue the Rescuers

Vader coerces Valum into ordering all remaining members of the facility’s staff to evacuate. As the many stormtroopers and other imperials board the star destroyer, Vader speaks with the former inquisitors. “You knew Luke Skywalker had been captured this whole time,” Vader states.  
  
Kadin replies, “We did. I was always going to tell you after the mission was complete. But I-”  
  
“You didn’t want me to drop everything and go after him. A logical decision all things considered,” Vader admits.  
  
“But that’s not all we knew about,” Kara says, “The Emperor knows where Leia Organa is going.”  
  
“How?” Ahsoka asks.  
  
Vader answers for her, “The Emperor has spies among the rebels.”  
  
Kara tells them, “The Emperor has sent a fleet to intercept her ship.”  
  
Vader bows his head, thinking through solutions to their problems, searching for the ideal one and not letting his emotions get in the way of his search. “Kadin, Kara, Luna, Tetch, you four must escort the prisoners in the star destroyer. Do not let the prisoners know I am not with them. They will be more compliant if they think I am on board. And take the detonator with you. Ahsoka and I will rescue Luke and Leia.”  
  
“I suppose this is where we part ways,” Kadin says.  
  
“For now at least,” Vader replies.  
  
After telling them the coordinates where the fleet intends to find Leia, Kadin tells them, “Vader, Ahsoka, you have our gratitude. If it weren’t for you, we would still be slaves to the Empire. We will never be able to fully repay you.”  
  
Vader tells the former inquisitors, “Your forgiveness is more than enough repayment for me at least.”  
  
Vader and Kadin shake hands and tell each other, “May the Force be with you.”  
  
The four former inquisitors turn away and leave for the star destroyer, wondering if they will ever see Darth Vader or Ahsoka Tano again.  
  
Vader tells Ahsoka disheartened, “We must split up if we are to reach Luke and Leia in time. I wish it were not so, but . . . Ahsoka, you must be the one to rescue my son while I help Leia Organa.”  
  
Ahsoka stares at him, her eyes wide open. “I would have thought you would insist on doing this the other way around.” An assumption that makes sense because Vader doesn’t know that Leia is his daughter.  
  
“It is only logical to proceed this way. Your skills of stealth far exceed my own; as do my piloting skills exceed yours. Luke needs you and Leia needs me.”  
  
Ahsoka is stunned that Vader is thinking so clearly even when his loved ones are at stake. The old Anakin Skywalker would have rushed into a stupid plan or let everyone else burn for the sake of those closed to him. The old Anakin would have let Leia Organa die and gone after Luke, taking Ahsoka with him. But now, he recognizes Leia’s importance to the greater good. He is even willing to send Ahsoka on a dangerous mission by herself for the greater good. On top of that, he seems to have faith in Ahsoka’s ability to complete that mission. And Vader’s plans for the rescues are logical and rational.  
  
He has proven himself.  
  
Vader says, “I know it is a lot to ask of you, but it would-” Vader’s voice trails off as Ahsoka comes at him and puts her hands on each side of his mask. She pulls him in and presser her lips against the part of his mask in front of his mouth. Vader’s breath is taken away and Ahsoka can hear his respirator working harder. The fact that Ahsoka is kissing his helmet means a lot to him because it shows that she accepts him even with his conditions. He wraps his arms around her and lets her kiss him for as long as she wants.  
  
When Ahsoka finally breaks away, she tells him breathlessly, “I won’t let you down . . . Master.” This isn’t the first time she’s called him that. But this time, she puts a whole new meaning behind that word.  
  
They both leave the Post-Separatist Holding Facility and go to their respective missions.

  
  
  
  
  
Ahsoka wears a cloak and hood as she walks the streets of Coruscant. Not that there’s anything wrong with her outfit underneath; she just needs to keep a low profile. She looks up at the building Luke is being held in. With all these imperials around, it’s going to be tricky to reach the building, let alone get inside it. Ahsoka sees a balcony on one of the higher levels. If she could reach that, she could probably get indoors pretty easily. She can’t climb all the way up; not without proper tools and a lot of luck. She’s going to need two things; a way to fly and a big distraction. Ahsoka sees a tie fighter fly above her and preparing to land for refueling. She takes a good look at an AT-AT marching in the distance and a plan is quickly cobbled together. She makes hast, running to where ever that tie fighter is landing. Ahsoka sneaks her way to the tie fighter, climbs inside and stabs the pilot through the chair with her lightsaber. She pushes him out of the seat and inspects how much fuel is actually left; it’s not much, but Ahsoka won’t need to fly for very long. She takes off in the tie fighter, confusing the stormtroopers that knew the pilot came to refuel. Ahsoka flies around, pretending to be doing regular patrols and avoiding suspicion. Ahsoka hovers the tie fighter over an AT-AT and carefully lands on top of it. A few civilians see this, but for all they know, tie fighters landing on AT-ATs is standard military practice. Ahsoka opens the hatch and gets out of the tie fighter, landing on the AT-AT. She uses her lightsabers to cut a hole in the top of the AT-AT and jumps through. She makes her way to the AT-AT’s cockpit and dispatches the two pilots. She grabs the controls and points the AT-AT’s heavy cannon at the building. Ahsoka takes a deep breath. Once she starts this next part, she will need to move fast. Ahsoka exhales and fires.  
  
Everyone within earshot was terrified to hear the thundering sound of the AT-AT firing a heavy bolt. And they were more terrified to see the bolt create a massive explosion on the side of a building.  
  
“GO, GO, GO!” Ahsoka thinks tells herself. She rushes out the way she came, climbing to the top of the AT-AT. She make an impressive jump to the hatch, gets back inside the tie fighter and takes off, but she does not close the hatch. Ahsoka turns on the tie fighter’s comlink and says, pretending to be hysterical, “HELP! That AT-AT has gone rouge!”  
  
A voice comes through, asking, “What’s going on over there?!”  
  
“I’m not sure! I think they messed with my tie fighter’s controls!” Ahsoka lies.  
  
“Pilot, land immediately and tell us what you know about that AT-AT.”  
  
“You’re breaking up! I’m going to crash!” Ahsoka cuts off the transmission and flies toward the building. She flies with erratic turns to sell the lie about losing control of the tie fighter. She pulls back on the controls and flies straight up alongside the building. Ahsoka waits for the exact right moment as she holds the controls steady, watching the windows rush past her as she flies higher and higher. She’s coming up on that balcony. The exact moment is nearly upon her. Ahsoka does the unthinkable; she lets go of the controls, moves from the chair to the open hatch, and jumps from the tie fighter.  
  
The tie fighter keeps flying upward without a pilot and Ahsoka keeps moving upward thanks to the momentum. She gets closer to the balcony as her momentum diminishes. She reaches her peek height right above the edge of the balcony and, when she falls, she lands gracefully on the banister, bending her knees and grabbing onto it with one hand. Ahsoka is in a state of amazement. Her crazy stunt actually worked. She laughs with excitement and relief. Ahsoka steps down from the banister and gets inside as the abandoned tie fighter crashes into the top of the building.  
  
Ahsoka’s plan is working perfectly so far. Inside, people are scrambling, panicking about the giant hole the side of the building, and sending battalions of troopers to investigate the AT-AT. Those stormtroopers are going to rush all the way over, only to find that the pilots are dead and everyone else on board is just as confused as they are. For now, Ahsoka has her distraction and no one knows she’s inside. After all, who would be crazy enough to jump from a tie fighter moving that fast?  
In her position, others might have disguised themselves as a stormtroopers, but that’s not an option for Ahsoka because her montrals wouldn’t fit in a stormtrooper helmet. Instead, Ahsoka moves through the halls, either making sure she isn’t seen or making sure that whoever sees her doesn’t live long enough to alert anyone else.  
  
Ahsoka peeks around a corner and sees a group of troopers rushing off somewhere. Based off their direction, Ahoska knows they aren’t headed for the exit or the damaged part of the building. Her guess is that they’re going to find either their prisoner; that being Luke, or the Emperor, who might be with Luke. Ahsoka quietly follows them, keeping from being noticed and, sure enough, the troopers assemble outside a room that the Emperor walks out of, wondering what’s going on. The Emperor leaves either to hide or coordinate while half of the assembled troopers stay outside the door. Ahsoka reasons that Luke must be in there. According to Ahsoka’s count, there are ten stormtroopers guarding the room. The question is, can she take them all out before any of them call for help?

  
  
  
  
  
Luke senses something. He can feel the presence of someone else both strong with the Force and steadfast to the light. This person is not far away from this room. Luke uses the force to press the button with the cylinder to free himself. Struggling to move, Luke somehow stands up and grabs the cylinder with his hand. Fortunately there is something else, Luke has managed to hide in this room. Out from under a control console, Luke summons his lightsaber.  
  
Ahsoka can sense that the time to strike is near. Somehow, she knows that the thing for her to do is slowly approach the stormtroopers.  
  
“Hey! Who are you?!” a stormtrooper demands.  
  
Walking closer to them, Ahsoka says, “Is this not the way to the mess hall? I get so turned around in this place.”  
  
“What are you talking about? We’ve never seen you before.”  
  
Suddenly, the doors open and Luke ignites his green lightsaber. Ahsoka ignites her own lightsabers and the two of them rush the group of stormtroopers. Even in his weakened state, Luke manages to take out four of them while Ahsoka handles the other six. Between the two of them, the stormtroopers didn’t have enough time to call for help.  
  
Luke deactivates his lightsaber and leans against the wall, already needing a break. “Who are you?” he asks, wincing with pain.  
  
For a split second, Ahsoka considered telling him she just might be his future step-mother, but that’s a bombshell for another time. “My name is Ahsoka Tano. I’m here to rescue you.”  
  
“Is there anyone else with you?” Luke asks, hoping to hear his father’s name.  
  
“No. But there is someone who sent me; your father asked me to get you out of here.”  
  
Ahsoka wraps Luke’s arm around her shoulders; a task made tricky because of her third head-tail which Luke’s arm hast to slide underneath. Ahsoka helps Luke walk to an elevator and they both get inside.  
  
“We can’t go down to the first floor,” Luke cautions. “There’s too many of them down there.”  
  
“Don’t worry. We’re not going to the first floor,” Ahsoka says before pressing one of the buttons.  
  
The elevator takes them just a few floors lower where Ahsoka leads Luke to a window. “Right on cue,” Ahsoka comments, looking at the f-143 ships below. The f-143s are spraying water on the burning portions of the building that had been set alight by the AT-AT’s cannon fire. Ahsoka points to one of the f-143s and says, “That’s how we’re getting out of here.”  
  
They take a few steps back before Ahsoka uses the force to shatter the window into an explosion of shards. “You ready.”  
  
“I’ve been ready since I got here,” Luke replies.  
  
Ahsoka and Luke make a running start, jump out of the building through the hole where the window used to be, and land on one of the f-143s. They cut their way in and persuade the pilot to fly them away from the site. When the pilot is asked over a transmission why he is leaving, Ahsoka has him lie about being out of water. After that, Ahsoka breaks the communications equipment so the pilot won’t be able to call for help. The f-143 lands far away from the building where Ahsoka and Luke disembark and make their way to Ahsoka’s own ship. Now, they’re home free. By the time the Emperor finds out about Luke getting out of his chair, it’s too late. Ahsoka was in and out of there in a flash and she kept them too occupied with the chaos to know she was there until she was long gone.  
  
Ahsoka makes the jump to light speed while Luke sits in the seat next to her. “Impressive,” Luke compliments. “Thank you so much getting me out of there. It was so horrible.” Luke’s face falls, thinking about all the torment he endured.  
  
Ahsoka puts a hand gently on his shoulder and says, “You’re going to be okay now, Luke. Whatever he did to you, it’s over. Your father and I won’t let that happen to you again.”  
  
“How do you know my father?” Luke asks, welcoming a change of subject.  
  
“We fought together in the Clone Wars. Back then, we were both Jedi. But, more recently, we took over a very important facility together; a facility that might help win the war.”  
  
Ahsoka can’t help thinking about the most recent change in her relationship with Vader. She remembers vividly how almost silly, yet ultimately satisfying it was to kiss him while he still had his helmet on. She tries to figure out if this is the right moment to tell Luke about that kiss, but before she can make up her mind, Luke asks her, “Was it you? Did you turn my father to the Light Side?”  
  
“Ye- well, really it was both of us; me and you. I talked him into it, but the real reason he wanted to turn to the Light Side was so he be on the same side as you.”  
  
“You seem to know my father well. Would you happen to know who my mother was?”  
  
“Her name was Padme Amidala?”  
  
“Was?” Luke repeats, asking if that was the correct choice of words.  
  
“Yes, was,” Ahsoka clarifies with a heavy heart. “She was a senator with good relations with the Jedi. She would be very proud of you.”  
  
Luke wants to learn more about his mother, but not now. The confirmation of her death has made the topic too sensitive. Only after he has had time will he be ready for more information. For now, there is something else he is itching to ask. “What was it like? Being a Jedi back then?”  
  
Ahsoka’s grip on the controls tights as conflicting memories flood her mind. “It was complicated. This might be hard to hear, but the Jedi weren’t perfect.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Luke asked, almost sounding like a child who had just been told his favorite legendary character is just pretend.  
  
“The Jedi had rules that were just dumb. They forbid attachment and became cold. I know that you want to be the one to restore the Jedi order. Maybe you can bring it back better than it was before.” Ahsoka proceeds to tell Luke all about her experience as a Jedi; including how and why she left the order.  
  
“This is a lot to consider,” Luke says thoughtfully.  
  
“I mean, it wasn’t all bad. At least I got to spend time with your father.” Ahsoka clears her throat and decides that maybe now would be a good time to tell him. “Luke, um . . . Since I reconnected with your father, things have . . . changed.”  
  
“How so?” Luke asks.  
  
Ahsoka says awkwardly, unable to look at him, “Um . . . things have gone in a . . . romantic direction.”  
  
Luke looks at Ahsoka like she had just swallowed a live loth-cat. “Romantic?”  
  
“Surprise,” she says before offering an awkward laugh that dies quickly.  
  
Luke takes a moment to consider what he makes of this. “Well, a former Jedi who fought in the Clone Wars, brought my father back to the light, and rescued me from the Emperor? That’s as good a person as any to have as a step-mother.”  
  
Ahsoka drops her awkwardness and puts on warm smile. “I like you, young Skyguy.”  
  
Luke thinks, “I wonder if Leia is going feel the same way I do about this.”

  
  
  
  
  
A star destroyer bombards a Mon Calamari cruiser, chipping away at its shields. Tie fighters swarm the area, battling the outnumbered x-wings and y-wings. On board the cruiser, Leia shouts, “Why haven’t we made the jump to light speed?!”  
  
“Our hyperdrive been sabotaged right before the star destroyer showed up!” an engineer explains over a comlink. “We think there might be a spy on board!”  
  
They haven’t lost any of their pilots yet, but they haven’t been out there very long. Three tie fighters chase a single x-wing. He zigzags to avoid their fire, but he won’t be able to keep it up forever. The pilot calls out, “I need help over here! I’ve got three ties behind me!”  
  
Piloting the millennium falcon, Han spots the x-wing. He’s far away, but there are no friendlies closer. “I’m coming! Just hang on a little longer!”  
  
Suddenly, a tie advanced x1 comes out of light speed, popping into the area. “Ah, great. Like there weren’t enough of them out here,” Han complains. Han moves in the x-wing’s direction, but more tie fighters appear in his way. Han has no choice but to steer in a new direction and fend off his own attackers.”  
  
Without the falcon to help, the x-wing keeps trying to avoid enemy fire. On top of that, the tie advanced x1 is headed straight toward him from the opposite direction. Thinking this is the only problem he can solve, the x-wing pilot opens fire, but the x1 is too evasive. For a split second, the x-wing pilot thinks he’s about to die.  
  
The tie advanced x1 fires, destroying all three of the x-wing’s pursuers as it passes by. The x-wing pilot is dumbfounded by the event. “Did any of you see that?”  
  
“What happened?” Han asks.  
  
“That tie advanced x1 just saved my life.”  
  
Looking out a window, Leia watches as the x1 rampages throughout the area, destroying countless tie fighters and avoiding fire from the rebels who haven’t caught on yet.  
  
A bridge operator tells her, “Someone is trying to reach us on a transmission.”  
  
“It’s probably the mystery hero out there. Put him through.” Once the transmission is accepted, she is about to ask something, but her words get stuck in her throat as soon as she hears that respirator. Leia is frozen with fear, already knowing who it before a single is said.  
  
“This is a defector,” Vader says, “requesting access to you pilots’ channel.”  
  
Leia is speechless. She stares out the window as her blood runs cold.  
  
“Should we give him access?” the operator asks.  
  
Leia tries to think as fast as she can. She is terrified of Darth Vader, but . . . it makes sense for him to defect, doesn’t it? Luke said that Vader was his father and it wasn’t Vader that captured him on the moon of Endor. Leia swallows hard and makes a hard decision. “Give him access,” She says nervously.  
  
Vader tells the rebel pilots, “This is the pilot of the tie advanced x1. I have come to help the Rebellion.”  
  
“Copy that, x1,” says another pilot.  
  
Han on the other hand, recognizes that voice. He is stunned for a second, but he shakes it off, thinking there must be somethings wrong with the transmission that making him sound like that.  
  
Sitting across from Han, Chewbacca makes a few noises as a question.  
  
“It can’t possibly be him. He wouldn’t be helping us.”  
  
Chewbacca roared an argument.  
  
“I know it’s the same kind of ship. But he’s a defector. If he was going to steal a ship from the Empire and leave, it makes sense to steal a good ship.”  
  
As Vader shoots tie fighter after tie fighter, his impulses keep thinking he should shoot at the rebels, but he remembers not to each time. Fighting for the Rebellion is going to take some getting used. His mind has been trained to shot them on sight. He hast to keep reminding himself that they’re on the same side now.  
  
Vader tells the others, “All pilots, I need you to lead the tie fighters away from the star destroyer.”  
  
“What for?”  
  
“The turrets on that destroyer will tear the cruiser apart in time. I can take them out, but I cannot contend with turrets and tie fighters at the same time.”  
  
Han doesn’t know who’s piloting that x1; he’s in denial about it anyway. But whoever is piloting that ship seems to be the only one here with a plan. Reluctantly, he tells the others, “You heard the man. Let’s give him some room to work with.”  
  
The rebel ships move away from the star destroyer and the tie fighters peruse them. For the time being, Vader keeps them covered, destroying those who threaten the x-wings and y-wings.  
  
“We’ll hold them here, x1. Go for it.”  
  
Vader breaks away from them, flying back toward the star destroyer. He moves passed enemy fire with perfect evasion. He flies in close, moving just above the haul of the star destroyer. Where he’s flying, few of the turrets can fire at him, but he has a good view of them. Vader zooms along the star destroyer, blasting each turret with a thorough sweep, never missing a single one. He then flies down to the underside and clears out all the turrets on that side, too.  
  
“All turrets have been destroyed,” Vader announces.  
  
“What?!” Han exclaims dubiously. He takes another look at the star destroyer and, sure enough, they’re all gone. “Well, isn’t that something?” Han asks, amazed.  
  
Vader flies back to the fleet and helps them fight the tie fighters. This time, they have an advantage because, unlike the star destroyer, the rebel’s Mon Calamari cruiser still has turrets. Vader diligently protects the rebels while destroying the imperial ships. What seemed like a hopeless battle has shifted in their favor. Eventually, the remaining imperial ships retreat back into the star destroyer and they make the jump to light speed as rebels cheer for their victory. When the rebel pilots fly back to the Mon Calamari cruiser, Vader is also permitted to enter.  
  
Once he lands, Vader opens the hatch of his ship, wondering what kind of welcome he’s going to receive. Now he can hear the cheering and applause of those who have gathered around, not knowing who their mysterious hero is. Vader climbs out and they see him. The applause and cheering instantly begins to diminish, but some of them begin again, accepting his place among them. Many of them stay silent and even back up a bit. Vader steps down from the ship and, once the noise is finished, he says, “It is an honor to hear your welcome. I look forward to more battles in which I will aid the Rebellion.”  
  
“Darth Vader,” Leia says, approaching him with armed troopers by her side just in case.  
  
“You are brave to face me personally after our previous encounters. I had expected you to send someone in your stead.”  
  
“Then you weren’t paying enough attention on our previous encounters.” Leia tells him.  
  
“Perhaps not enough. But I remember clearly your reasons to distrust me.”  
  
“So why did you come here? Why did you think I would trust you now?”  
  
“I didn’t,” Vader says plainly. “I do not expect you to trust me when I tell you I wish to join your Rebellion. I expect you to trust Luke. The next time you see him, Luke Skywalker will vouch for my new loyalties.”  
  
Leia’s face darkens as a bad memory comes back. “Unfortunately Luke Skywalker has been captured.”  
  
“I am aware. More than that, I am aware of his location and, even better, I have sent my most trusted ally to rescue him.”  
  
Leia’s heart races at the idea of Luke being so close to safety. She isn’t the only one who’s spirits are lifted. All around, rebels exchange excited looks. “Wha- where is he?”  
  
“He has been kept on Coruscant,” Vader answers.  
  
“Can you tell us where exactly on Coruscant?”  
  
“That will not be necessary. By the time you reach the planet, Luke will be long gone. What I could tell you is where my ally and I have agreed to regroup with each other.”  
  
Leia is pinched by fear, immediately thinking this could be a trap.  
  
Vader continues, “But I suspect you would prefer I retrieve him and bring him back to you.”  
  
Leia tells him, “We’re not staying here. The Empire could send another star destroyer. How will you find us?”  
  
“Go where ever Luke would meet with you. I will be waiting for you there.”  
  
Vader turns to go back to his ship. But Leia calls out, “Wait!”  
  
Vade faces her, waiting for her to go on.  
  
Leia swallows her fear and says, “Take me with you.”  
  
“WHAT?!” Han cries, stepping in. He grabs Leia’s shoulders and tells says concernedly, “Leia, what are you doing? You can’t go with him.”  
  
Understanding how crazy she seems to be, Leia says, “Han, I promise I’ll explain later. Just trust me; I think he’s telling the truth.”  
  
“That’s it?! You’ll explain later? I need to make sure you’re not doing something stupid now!”  
  
Leia desperately leans forward and whispers in his ear, “He’s Luke’s father.”  
  
Han heard her clearly, but he can’t help thinking he heard wrong. Those words sound crazy. But judging by the solemn look on Leia’s face, it seems that crazy message is exactly what she meant to say. Leia ties to walk passed him, but Han pleads, “Hang on. If you’ve got to do this, at least let me come with you.”  
  
Chewbacca makes noises that Han recognizes as insistence to go as well.  
  
Vader tells them, “My ship will not hold four people.”  
  
“We’ll take the Falcon,” Han says, almost regretting it as soon as the words leave his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love it when an idea I wanted to do for one reason happens to also work perfectly for another reason. I wanted Ahsoka to rescue Luke while Vader rescues Leia because those were the interactions I wanted to write and those were the relationships that the characters didn't know they needed. Obviously, Luke and Vader want to be in each other's lives, but there is also the daughter and the potential step-mother to bond with. At one point I suddenly thought, "Wait, doesn't that also happen to work perfectly with their respective skill sets? YES!"
> 
> In canon, there was never a time when Vader talked with Leia while she knew they were father and daughter and he didn't. I got excited about the interaction they're going to have in the next chapter. And I wanted Ahsoka to meet Luke, mostly because she's the potential step-mother, but also because Ahsoka has all this knowledge about the Jedi order making her someone who can guide him. I really liked the idea of Luke seeing Ahsoka as a mother figure for both reasons. (Not just because she is his father's girlfriend.)
> 
> Something I would dive deeper into in a potential sequel is the contrast where Luke and Ahsoka are not related by blood, but Luke does see her as family while Leia and Vader ARE related by blood, but Leia does NOT see him as family. Notice how Leia told Han Vader was Luke's father, not that he was Luke's AND HER father.
> 
> I want to give you a heads up. These chapters have mostly been releasing Friday night, but the next chapter will be released Saturday morning. The next chapter will be the last chapter of Star Wars: The Unending. (Though there will probably be a sequel in time.) And that chapter will also be the last chapter of fanfiction I release until March. Until I return, remember to read my other fanfiction, Disney Princesses: Extermination. I forgot to mention this before, but the first chapter of Disney Princesses: Extermination is kind of slow. Chapter 1 takes the time to introduce the characters and establish the kind of relationships they have with each other. But that chapter, for the most part, isn't really a representation of what most of the story is like. If you want to try that story, I recommend holding on until the end of Chapter 2 before deciding if you want to drop it or continue it. I assure you that DPE is an action packed fantasy epic with deep themes, NOT a series of tea parties and ballroom dances. Also, I wrote it to be understandable even for people that haven't seen all the Disney Princess films so, even if you're not a Disney Princess fan, you'll be able to follow along with what's going on. I honestly think that Disney Princesses: Extermination is my best fanfiction so far. So if you've enjoyed Star Wars: The Unending, I highly recommend reading Disney Princesses: Extermination.


	14. New Possibilities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An idea that ended up not happening in this story was doing rewrites of the prequel as flashbacks. The idea was that Vader could tell Ahsoka the stories of each rewritten film one after the other because she wasn’t there. I knew that I didn’t want to dedicate an entire 40,000 plus word fanfiction to a rewrite of the prequel trilogy because so many over fanfic writers have that covered. I just wanted to quickly give an idea of how I think they could have been done better. I briefly thought about rewriting the sequel trilogy, but the problem with that is there’s nothing to salvage. If I were to do a prequel rewrite, I would keep a lot of the characters, I would definitely keep the world building like the vehicles, I would keep the clones and the battles droids. But if I were to do a sequel trilogy rewrite, I would start from absolute scratch. I would throw out the entire First Order, Luke being a failure, and every new character. Anyway, maybe the prequel rewrite flashbacks can be in Star Wars: The Unending 2.

Before leaving, Leia asks Vader if he could identify the spy among the ship’s crew who sabotaged the hyperdrive. It just so happened Vader did recognize someone. It seemed odd to take Darth Vader’s word about this, but upon investigation, they found that the suspect had no alibi unlike others who would have had access to the hyperdrive, so the spy was incarcerated. Just before leaving, Leia was told that the hyperdrive would be repaired soon and the crew will meet up with her elsewhere. Now, Leia sits in the cockpit of the millennium falcon with Han and Chewbacca.  
  
Knowing Vader is on the ship, but out of earshot, Han says, “So, he’s Luke’s father?”  
  
“Yes,” Leia says weekly.  
  
“How long have you known?”  
  
“Since the night before we destroyed the Death Star.”  
  
Han is silent for a time before he says, “It sorta explains a few things when I think about it.”  
  
“I guess.”  
  
Leia considers telling Han that Vader is also her father, but the idea of Vader overhearing is just too terrifying.  
  
They sit in silence until Leia says, “I’m going to go talk to him.”  
  
“Are you sure about this?”  
  
“I’ll be fine,” she tells him.

  
  
  
Leia finds Vader sitting with his arm resting on the table.  
  
“I think you and I have a lot to discuss,” Leia tells him, sitting down at the same table. She puts a recording device on the table for him to see. But she doesn’t turn it on yet. “I’m sure you have information that the Rebellion can use.”  
  
“I would have thought my information would be considered inadmissible until my new loyalties are proven.”  
  
Leia considers whether or not to say it. “I have reason to believe you have Luke’s best interests at heart.”  
  
Vader checks the recording device to make sure it isn’t on. “Did Luke tell you anything about me that gives you such reason?”  
  
Leia hesitantly tells him, “I know you’re his father.”  
  
“I see.”  
  
To test what he knows, Leia asks, “Are there any other children of yours I should know about?”  
  
“None,” Vader replies, believing this answer to be true. “My wife was pregnant only once. There is only Luke.” But now that Vader thinks about it, he wasn’t there with Padme gave birth. There could have been twins for all he knew. Vader adds, “That is, unless . . .” Vader shakes his head, brushing off the idea. “No. There is only Luke; I am sure of it. If I had two children, they both would have been trained as Luke was.”  
  
Leia stares off into the distance. Why wasn’t she trained like Luke? It’s not like she wasn’t willing to put in the work. She would have loved to be as helpful to the Rebellion as Luke has been. Leia can think of several instances off the top of her head when being able to do what Luke can would have changed everything.  
  
“If you don’t mind my asking, who was Luke’s mother?”  
  
“Her name was Padme Amidala.”  
  
Leia’s heart skips a beat. “The senator?”  
  
“You know your history,” Vader complements.  
  
“My father told me all about her,” Leia says, referring to her adoptive father. “My father, Bail Organa met her many times. He was always telling me how determined and resilient she was.” Leia had always wondered why Bail talked about Padme so much. Leia almost gets teary-eyed, but she resists. She wants to ask Bail why he never told her who her birth parents were, but she can’t. “My father was on Alderaan when it was destroyed,” Leia says, mildly aggressive.  
  
“That is one of the many things I must apologize for. I have caused you so much pain; all of which I regret. I humbly ask for your forgiveness.”  
  
Leia doesn’t know what to tell him. “We’ll talk about that after I see Luke.”  
  
Vader would have been disappointed if he actually expected better. “I understand.”  
  
Leia gets up from the table, her skin starting to crawl.  
  
Vader can sense something in her that he couldn’t before. There is a certain potential that has recently become more visible. Vader asks, “Did Luke ever let you hold his lightsaber?”  
  
Leia stops dead in her tracks. She was almost out of the room, but she can’t ignore this. Is Vader on to her? Leia replies cautiously, “I never asked him to.”  
  
Vader stands from the table and takes his lightsaber off his belt. He holds it out, offering to let Leia give it a try.  
  
Leia isn’t sure about this. She doesn’t want Vader to find out about anything they might have in common. And yet, the idea of holding a lightsaber has become too enticing. Leia walks over to face him and nervously accepts his lightsaber. She takes a good look at it and says, “It’s lighter than I thought.”  
  
Vader points to a part of the lightsaber. “This is the button to activate it. Make sure the emitter is not pointed toward your body.”  
  
Leia holds the lightsaber with both hands and presses the button. The blade ignites, covering Leia’s face in red light. She stares at the blade as if for the first time, mesmerized by its beauty and power. This is what she never knew she was starving for.  
  
“Why don’t we try a few of the basics?” Vader asks.  
  
Leia nods her eager agreement.  
  
“Hold it like so,” Vader instructs, modeling the stance.  
  
Leia follows his example with attention to detail, positioned even her feet the same as him.  
  
“Begin with a basic strike.” Vader slowly makes the motion and Leia follows him, performing a diagonal swing.  
  
“Follow up with a curved swing below.”  
  
Leia follows his movement, twisting the lightsaber almost upside-down to strike where her imaginary opponent’s legs would be.  
  
“Now guard against a vertical attack.”  
  
Leia holds the lightsaber horizontally, positioning her legs to take the impact.  
  
“Now try doing all three motions together, but only a little faster.”  
  
Leia makes the three movements even faster than Vader was expecting her to.  
  
“Very good.”  
  
Leia has very mixed feelings about being complimented by him; especially when he’s talking about her use of a lightsaber.  
  
Han’s voice is heard through a speaker, telling them, “We’re getting real close to Rezlice. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”  
  
Disappointed by the interruption to these basics on lightsabers, Leia reluctantly deactivates the blade, displeased to see the red glow leave her. She offers the lightsaber back to Vader, a part of her wishing she could keep it.  
  
Vader takes it back and says, “Before you go, I believe your device is still on the table.”  
  
“Right,” she says, having completely forgotten about her recording device.  
  
“Why don’t you try pulling it to you from here?”  
  
Does Vader really think she can do that? Can she really do that? “You mean with the Force? I don’t know how.”  
  
“Focus and stretch out with your feelings. It is easier than it seems; you must believe that.”  
  
Leia points her open hand at the recording device, listening to more instructions from Vader. She pays attention to his words and tries to do as he says. But the device isn’t moving. Maybe it’s because of all her doubts. Leia thinks, “I wouldn’t have these doubts at this point if I had been trained the same way Luke was! I should have been just like him. I should be able to do what he can do! Why didn’t Bail tell me who my birth parents were? Why didn’t Obi-Wan’s spirit tell me to seek Yoda’s training, too? Why am I not a Jedi, too? Did they think I hadn’t earned it even though I was already helping the Rebellion when Luke was still a moister farmer?!” Leia focuses again on the recording device, this time stretching out with her anger.  
  
The device is crushed by Leia’s power, its pieces either caving in on each other or splinter off as it violently implodes.  
  
Leia steps back, startled by her own power. Leia stares first at what remains of the recording device and then at her own hand, grappling with the fact that she did that. She did that with her anger. Leia looks to Darth Vader as a horrifying theory weighs down on her. Luke told her before that acting on anger and hate can lead to the Dark Side. She always did have more of a temper than Luke. “Is that why I was never trained?” Leia wonders.  
  
Leia sees the logic in the theory. But that does not mean she doesn’t want training. “It’s a start,” Leia says. “We should probably sit down now.”  
  
Leia walks out of the room, leaving Vader to ponder what he has seen. There was something about her. Vader can tell that there’s something she’s not telling him.

  
  
  
Darth Vader is very nervous to see his son. This will be their first meeting after joining him in the light. The Millennium Falcon lands on Rezlice, intensifying his fear. Will Luke accept his turn? Vader stands up and meets the others at the exit ramp as it opens. Luke and Ahsoka are waiting outside. Luke’s face lights up at the sight of them. Leia, Han, and Chewbacca race down the ramp and embrace him. Vader walks out of the Falcon at a slower pace and keeps a respectful distance. This initial part is their reunion. Vader wishes not to be an unwelcome disturbance.  
  
“It’s so good to see you all again,” Luke says, almost crying.  
  
Han tells him in shame, “Kid, I wish I could have helped you before.”  
  
“You did exactly what you should have, Han. If you tried to rescue me, the Emperor would’ve killed you. And if you didn’t let me go out there to fight him, he would have stopped us from destroying the shield generator.”  
  
“I guess, but . . .”  
  
“It’s alright, Han. Ahsoka got me out of there. Everything worked out for the best.” Han nods his understanding. Luke turns to Leia and asks, “Did you talk much with Vader?”  
  
Leia doesn’t want to talk about what happened. Thankfully, she knows what he’s really asking about. “I told him I know he’s your father.”  
  
“Is that all you told him?” Luke asks, wondering if, or knowing that, she did not tell Vader she is his daughter.  
  
“That’s all he needs to know,” Leia replies. She gives Luke a look that’s begging him not to make the decision for her. Luke is disheartened, but he nods his agreement not to tell him . . . yet.  
  
Luke approaches Vader. They stand near to each other, but do not embrace. Each of them are too nervous. “I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about you from Ahsoka,” Luke says.  
  
“Did she tell you how much remorse I have?”  
  
“She did.”  
  
Vader tells him, “A great many things would have been better were I more like you. It is more than I deserve to know that my son became a better man than his father. You will never be as proud of me as I am of you. But I will do everything in my power to make you less ashamed.”  
  
“I have no shame, father,” Luke says. “I was always proud of the hero you used to be. And I’m proud of you for abandoning the Dark Side now. Everything between then and now can be forgiven.”  
  
Inside Vader’s helmet a tear of joy runs down his face. “I will not let you regret this. Together, we will defeat the Empire with ease.”  
  
“Do you have any plans?” Leia asks.  
  
“I have many. First of all, Ahsoka and I have recently taken a facility that will supply the Rebellion with billions of battle droids.”  
  
“Billions?” Leia asks in disbelief.  
  
“Billions.” Vader confirms. “They need only reprograming through a terminal that is linked to each of them. This is just the beginning. I know many secrets that will ensure our victory.”  
  
“I assume you know the locations of many imperial bases.”  
  
“There’s more. I know how to rid the Empire of its most valuable resource.”  
  
“Credits?” Leia guesses.  
  
“I do have plans to take that as well, but the Empire’s most valuable resource is loyalty. An empire cannot exist without it.”  
  
“And how will you take loyalty away from the Empire.”  
  
“The Emperor has kept a secret his status as a Sith Lord. Knowing his true nature will delegitimize his accusations made against the Jedi order. The public will know that he lied about his reasons for eradicating the Jedi and, perhaps, that his connection to Dark Side calls his judgment into question. Even more of a loyalty breaker is how he controlled both sides of the Clone Wars.”  
  
“Do you have any proof?” Leia questions.  
  
“Hard evidence connecting him to his old apprentices, Darth Maul and Count Dooku who fought of the side of the Separatists during the Clone Wars. I have hours upon hours of recorded conversations between myself and the Emperor. We will dissuade any new troops from enlisting with the Empire, strike there secret basses, and attack with an army that will soon be stronger than ever. I expect this to be the final year of the Empire’s rein.”

  
  
  
The next four months are glorious. The Rebellion hunts down imperial basses and overwhelms them with unfathomable numbers. In each attack, the battle droids go in first as the more disposable pawns while the other rebels command them.  
  
On numerous planets, the rebellion broadcasts testimonies from Vader that tell the truth about the Emperor. This broadcasts are complete with excerpts from recorded conversations and coming from Vader himself, these broadcasts are incredibly damaging to the Emperor’s reputation. The Emperor, of course, denies these claims, especially the idea of him being a Sith lord. The Empire orders everyone to not spread the teachings of these broadcasts, but many imperials do nothing to enforce this. On some occasions, a patrolling stormtrooper comes across a group talking about the broadcasts and he just keeps walking. Sometimes, a stormtrooper catches someone drawing anti-imperial messages and he just pretends he didn’t see anything. In fact, many imperials discuss Vader’s testimonies behind closed doors, seriously questioning their decision to follow the Emperor. In this time, there are more troops going AWOL than ever before. Many of these troopers defect to the Rebellion. Most famously, an admiral convinces his entire battalion to join the Rebellion, taking their star destroyer with them.  
  
In this time, Vader helps fight on the front lines, but he also takes the time for a few overdue surgeries and upgrades. He quickly gets used to new mechanical legs and can now run faster than ever. His shoulder pads, along with other parts of his armor are replaced with a much lighter version, allowing for more flexible movement. It takes a while, but after three surgeries, Vader finally has no need for his respirator. Though he keeps a recorded version of the sound to turn on and off at will. He often takes his helmet off just to feel the wind on his face or see without lenses. But his favorite reason to take off his helmet is, of course, to give Ahsoka a kiss.  
  
Leia asks Luke to train her as a Jedi. Luke does his best to grant her request, but he can only spend a small portion his time training her. Luke keeps himself very busy in these final days of war, fighting the Empire. Now that the Empire is so weak, Luke wants to make sure they can’t recover. Leia understands Luke’s need to spend so much time fighting. Leia wishes she were out there with him, fighting the Empire as a Jedi. But she knows that by the time her training is complete, the Empire will be gone. Leia finds it all unacceptably unfair. She feels like she was robbed of being able to fight the Empire the way Luke can. So many times, Leia was at the Empire’s mercy, made to feel helpless because she didn’t even know about her powers. So many times, she had to rely on Luke to solve her problems because no one taught her how to solve them herself. Leia insists that she should have been sent with Luke to be trained by Yoda. She can’t help but have resentment for everyone who kept the secret from her. Now, the Empire is going to be defeated before she could have the chance to use her power to help. But she does not blame Luke for her misfortune. Luke may have kept the fact that Vader was his father a secret until he was sure it was true, but he told Leia that they were brother and sister as soon as they had the proper moment to themselves. She doesn’t blame Luke, but she does blame the old Jedi.  
  
After months of weakening the Empire, it is time to find and annihilate the Emperor himself. Darth Vader calls a meeting where he predicts that the Emperor will be in the same building Luke left him in on Coruscant.  
  
Leia says, “I doubt the Emperor will stay there now that Luke knows about the location. He probably left to hide elsewhere.”  
  
“The fact that Luke is aware of the location is exactly why the Emperor will stay put,” Vader explains.  
  
Ahsoka asks, “Do you think he still wants Luke to be his apprentice?”  
  
“At this point, he must have given up. Luke endured torture until he was rescued, never falling into the darkness. The Emperor must see now that it is pointless to try. The reason he will stay is his desire to kill Luke himself.”  
  
Leia says, “If that’s what he wants, we should keep Luke hear. We can send a billion battle droids to take care of the Emperor and keep Luke as far away as possible.”  
  
“No,” Luke says insistently. “I need to face him. Battle droids alone won’t be enough.”  
  
“Luke, you remember what happened the last time you fought him, don’t you?!”  
  
“Yes, I do. A stormtrooper shot me in the back when I was about to defeat him.”  
  
Vader adds, “And this time, Luke will not face him alone.”  
  
“I’m sorry, father, but I’m afraid I will.”  
  
“What?!” Vader bellows. “Luke, having me by your side will ensure victory against the Emperor.”  
  
“It would create a scenario in which the Emperor can’t win,” Luke agrees.  
  
“Precisely.”  
  
“That’s why the Emperor will run away if he sees us together.”  
  
Vader has to sit down. Luke is right and Vader knows it. There can only be one of them to face the Emperor. “Then let me go in your stead,” Vader pleads.  
  
“Father, you told me your suit was designed to conduct his lightning. The Emperor made it that way so you wouldn’t be able to defeat him.”  
  
“Soon this imperfection will be removed like the other intentional design flaws.”  
  
“Soon, yes, but we need to take down the Emperor now. If the Empire is defeated, but the Emperor is still out there, who knows what he can do from the shadows as he tries to rebuild. This is our best chance to end him. I must face the Emperor alone.”  
  
Vader doesn’t like it, but he can’t argue anymore. “Then may the Force be with you.”

  
  
  
A hundred dreadnoughts and ten Mon Calamari cruisers burst out of hyperspace above Coruscant. They easily tear apart the star destroyers of lesser number and make their way to the city. The Empire has many tie fighters in the sky, but each dreadnought has brought fighters of their own to do battle with them. Many of the dreadnoughts send down landing ships with millions of battle droids to fight their way to the building where the Emperor was last seen. The imperials shoot down many of the droids that march down the streets without cover, but it does not matter. There are millions more battle droids. The Rebellion can spare a few hundred thousand; especially today.  
  
During this battle, Vader and Ahsoka are given a different job than Luke’s. While Luke is on his way to face the Emperor himself, Vader and Ahsoka concentrate on weakening the enemy’s numbers. Ahsoka and Vader rush into the battlefront and ignite their lightsabers. Ahsoka’s blades are white just as they have been, but Vader has constructed a new lightsaber; one with a blue blade. As they run at the enemy and deflect incoming blaster bolts, Vader can actually keep up with Ahsoka at her top speed. Vader uses the Force to throw Ahsoka at the enemy. She flies through their ranks slices multiple stormtroopers with each swing of her lightsabers. When she lands, they try to shoot her, but Vader force-pulls her back and then Vader runs in, ramming his shoulder into a stormtrooper at high speed, knocking him into other troopers. Vader and Ahsoka rampage through the horde of stormtroopers, killing hundreds of them while the battle droids keep the enemy busy enough to not overwhelm them.  
  
But there are more than stormtroopers to contend with. AT-ATs march toward them and tie fighters fly above them. Vader sees these problems as each the solution to the other. Vader uses the Force to pull a tie fighter off course, causing it to fly straight into the head of an AT-AT, obliteration its operators in a glorious explosion that rains debris on the troopers below. Setting her sights on a closer AT-AT that is rounding a corner, Ahsoka tells Vader, “I’ve got this one.” She charges at the AT-AT and jumps onto its leg. With a few more leapts, Ahsoka makes her way to the AT-AT’s knee. She uses her lightsaber to cut all the way through the joint and when the AT-AT tries to keep walking, it falls over, crushing many stormtroopers when it lands. But Ahsoka has successfully avoided injury with her graceful landing.  
  
“Impressive,” Vader complements.

  
  
  
Luke leads the charge to the building. He covers five destroyer droids, allowing them to roll into position, unravel themselves, activate their shield generators, and open fire. Stormtroopers aren’t used to fighting destroyer droids. All they can think to do is keep shooting at the droids whose shield adsorb the bolts.  
  
Suddenly, the Emperor rushes out the front doors and leaps into the battle, dressed in his disguise. Vader was right about him still being here. While deflecting or evading enemy bolts, the Emperor unleashes a storm of force-lighting that envelops the sphere shaped shields of the destroyer droids. One by one, the shield generators are overtaxed and give out, allowing the Emperor to electrocute them into oblivion. Without the destroyer droids to interfere, the stormtroopers focus on a fire fight with the other battle droids.  
  
Luke and the Emperor stare at each other as they stand in the middle of the chaos. Everyone has Luke and the Emperor in their line of vision, but the stormtroopers don’t want to accidently hit the Emperor and the droids are ordered not to fire at Luke. With Luke and the Emperor standing so close to each other, few of the troops from either side try to shoot at them. Blaster bolts fly on each side, almost making up walls to keep them in their arena.  
  
Luke takes a calming breath. “I’ll be thinking of my friends and my father,” Luke says, calling back to one of their prior conversations.  
  
The Emperor says nothing. He’s wishes to speak to Luke no longer.  
  
They run at each other and their blades clash. Luke tells him, “You’ve always seen yourself as invisible. But I was helplessly restrained on a torture-chair and you still couldn’t beat me.”  
  
Enraged, the Emperor kept one blade locked with Luke’s, pushing both blades to the side. The Emperor uses his second blade to swing at him, but Luke backs away barely avoiding the strike. The Emperor pursues him and viciously swings at Luke many times. The Emperor is as furious as he is persistent. Luke blocks the attacks, but he keeps backing up in the process.  
  
The Emperor feels a satisfying sense of superiority. But it won’t last long.  
  
Luke leaps over the Emperor, blocking an overhead strike from his opponent. Luke lands on the other side and hast to fight to keep from laughing at the fool who fell right into his trap. In occurs only now to the Emperor that when Luke was backing up, he was leading him nearer the battle droids. Luke had used the Emperor’s anger to make him do something careless and sloppy. Luke gets some distance from the Emperor, allowing the battle droids to shot at him.  
  
The Emperor deflects the blaster bolts back at the battle droids despite the many angles they come from. The Emperor is kept busy by the bolts that come from all around him. Luke patiently waits from the exact right moment.  
  
NOW! Luke rushes the Emperor, lunging his lightsaber at him. The Emperor sees him coming almost too late. Another bolt is about to come at him as Luke attacks. Doing his best to block both attacks at once, the Emperor knocks Luke’s blade off course, but it still ends up hitting the side of the Emperor’s left arm.  
  
The Emperor shrieks as he recoils and struggles to block subsequent attacks from Luke. Fearing more blaster bolts, the Emperor dashes to Luke’s other side, trying to put Luke in the path of any more bolts. The droids hesitate to fire at the Emperor anymore, but Luke has already gained a lot from their help. Luke notices how the Emperor’s left arm keeps shaking, how every strike from his left lightsaber hits much weaker than before.  
  
Luke’s strategy may have had a price to it however. Now that the Emperor has destroyed so many droids, the stormtroopers are gaining an advantage against them. The stormtroopers move forward, hoping to gain a clear shot of Luke. Soon there are few battle droids left to protect him. The stormtroopers find their cover around Luke and prepare to fire. The Emperor is pleased to see the tables about to turn. He gets some distance from Luke the same way Luke had before. But this time, as the Emperor dashes away, Luke takes advantage of his lowering defenses by force-pushing the helmet off of the Emperor’s head, sending it flying away.  
  
The Emperor lands on his back with his face clearly visible. Never the less, he points at Luke and shouts, “OPEN FIRE!”  
  
Luke stands still, his eyes casually scanning the area. No one shoots at him. The stormtroopers stare at the face of the Emperor. Their world has been shattered by this devastating reveal. They can’t bring themselves to obey his order; they’re too rattled to think clearly, but the truth slowly settles in. He lied. The Rebellion told everyone that the Emperor was a Sith lord that controlled both sides of the Clone Wars. The Emperor denied it, but now they know he lied. The man they pledged to serve had done every terrible thing the rebels accused him of.  
  
“I SAID OPEN FIRE!” the Emperor shouts, standing back up.  
  
“They won’t serve you anymore,” Luke announces. No one denies it.  
  
The Emperor looks around at the stormtroopers that refuse to follow orders. He is furious, but more than that, he is terrified. This is the death of his reputation. If the Emperor wasn’t ruined before, he is now.  
  
Luke tells the stormtroopers, “You should go. He may wish to eliminate the witnesses.  
  
“DON’T GO!” the Emperor pleads in horror, confirming what Luke claims.  
  
Luke runs at the Emperor to continue their battle, not letting him have a chance to kill any of the witnesses. The stormtroopers run for their lives. Some of them run back into the building, informing everyone they find about what they’ve seen.  
  
As they fight, Luke says mockingly, “You put so much faith in the Dark Side. But look is has gotten you.”  
  
“The Dark Side has made me the Emperor of the galaxy!”  
  
“Pretending to be good is what made you the emperor. The Dark Side encourages the anger that blinded you to my plans. The Dark Side is what robbed you of everyone who was once loyal to you. You’ve lost every apprentice you’ve ever had and now you are losing your army. Failure is the way of the Sith; this is what you have chosen.” Luke puts a bright smile on his face and says with joy, “You have made the whole galaxy to hate you. Even if you escape today, you’ll never find anyone who will pledge their loyalty. You’ve lost everything and there is no way you’ll ever get it back.”  
  
The Emperor is shaking with fear. Luke speaks the truth. His Empire is crumbling around him. Even now, the Emperor can see tie fighters explode and AT-ATs fall. His Empire is dying and, thanks to Luke and Vader, he will never be able to rebuild another. “I won’t lose everything!” the Emperor desperately says, more to himself than to Luke. “I will still have my powerful.”  
  
“If you are so powerful, why did you need stormtroopers to defeat me for you?” Luke swings at the Emperor with three heavy strikes. “If you’re so powerful, why haven’t I turned? Why has my father left you to join me?” Luke swings three more times, increasing the Emperor’s fear with each strike. “If you’re so powerful, why is there a deep burn in your arm instead of mine? Why am I about to defeat you?”  
  
Luke makes an incomplete move toward the Emperor, faking him out. The Emperor swings in terror at where he expects him to be, but Luke backs up without striking yet. The Emperor’s blade passes by and his wrist is exposed. Luke moves his lightsaber in an upward swing, slices off the Emperor’s right hand. His anger, his lies, and now, his fear, has Luke used against him.  
  
The Emperor screams in agony. He is left with his only lightsaber being held by his weakened arm. But he has no choice but to keep defending himself. When Luke strikes, the Emperor blocks, but he can’t handle Luke’s strength more. The Emperor falls to the ground, still trying to block with his one lightsaber in his one hand. Luke hammers down at him. With each strike, Luke pushes the Emperor’s lightsaber closer to his own neck.  
  
Quickly, the Emperor deactivates his lightsaber and gushes lightning out of his hand. Luke takes a few steps back as he blocks the lightning with his lightsaber. The Emperor had tried this the last time they fought. But the last time, the Emperor had both hands with which to cast his force-lightning. And the last time, there were troopers around to save him. Luke closes his eyes, drawing the lightning onto his blade with ease. The lightning becomes an extension of his lightsaber; it even changes from blue to green, now matching Luke’s lightsaber. Luke leaps into the air with his twenty foot blade comprised of green lightning. As he moves, he paints the air with green electricity. Luke swings the lightning in a clockwise motion and smashes the storm onto the Emperor. Luke lands and all the lightning dies away. Steam raises from the Emperor’s body. He is defeated, he is broken, he is too weak to fight anymore, but he is still alive.  
  
The Emperor pleads, barely able to speak, “Please, don’t kill me. Please.”  
  
“My father told me he wished he had let you die the last time you said that,” Luke says thoughtfully.  
  
The Emperor casts his lightsaber aside as far as he can throw it in his condition. “You cannot strike me down when I am defenseless. . . . It is not the Jedi way.”  
  
Luke tightens his fist as he stares at the Emperor, deep in thought. He has heard much from Ahsoka about the Jedi way. Luke tells him calmly, “I am the one to decide what is the Jedi way now.”  
  
The Emperor’s eyes are filled with even more fear than before. “No, please!”  
  
Luke takes a deep breath and thinks about his friends and his father. They are going to be so much better off now. Luke slowly digs his lightsaber into the Emperor’s heart. The Emperor gasps as the green blade sinks in. And he goes limp. The Emperor is dead.  
  
Luke deactivates his lightsaber and pants his breaths of relief, triumph, joy, and almost disbelief. It’s over. The Emperor is dead. Luke and Vader have destroyed the Sith.  
  
Almost as if the timing was planned, the chaos around the city begins to die down. There are no more tie fighters in the sky nor AT-AT marching. Battle droids escort large groups of prisoners and the sounds of blaster fire is fading away. Vader and Ahsoka arrive, proud to see Luke triumphant against the Emperor.  
  
“You did it,” Ahsoka breathes.  
  
Vader tells Luke, “This is a historic day thanks to you, Luke.”  
  
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Luke says. “Either of you.”  
  
“So,” Ahsoka says, “We defeated the Empire, brought freedom to the galaxy and ended the Sith. What’s next?”  
  
“Now, we will rebuild,” Luke declares. “This time, it will be better. We will learn from history and never repeat the downfalls that came before. The new Republic will be protected by the new Jedi order.”  
  
“However you proceed, I will give you whatever help you ask for,” Vader promises, putting a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “The obstacles will be insignificant next to the combined might of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.  
  
“No, the combined might Luke and Anakin Skywalker,” Luke corrects. The name Darth Vader may sound very enticing, but they both know where it came from.  
  
“What about me,” Ahsoka protests. “I’ll be there for Luke, too.”  
  
“I did not wish to speak for you,” Va- . . . Anakin replies. “I have wondered what path you would choose after the war.”  
  
“Wherever I’m going,” Ahsoka says, putting a finger on Anakin’s chest, “I’m taking you with me, Skyguy.”  
  
Luke looks up. “They look different now, don’t they?”  
  
“What looks different?” Anakin asks.  
  
Luke keeps staring up and says in wonder, “The stars.”  
  
Anakin and Ahsoka look up as well. There is still sunshine, but some of the stars are visible in the blue sky. A galaxy once filled with despair is now an endless supply of possibility.  
  
The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was Star Wars: The Unending. What do you think?
> 
> At first, I was planning on having the Emperor survive to the end of the story because the whole thing about this story is that it doesn't end where the original trilogy ended. But I decided that I had to kill the Emperor because I'm actually tired of the Emperor always being the villain of everything all the time. If I write Star Wars: The Unending 2, I'll be introducing a new faction instead of bringing back the old threats. (You know, I would do what the sequel trilogy should have done.) I actually already have an idea of what that new faction would be. You might be wondering what I'm planning to do with Leia after all that foreshadowing. Honestly, I have ideas to delve into with Leia, but I have not yet decided Leia's ultimate destination. Also, don't forget that the former inquisitors are still out there so they can obviously come back in a sequel. And we've got to see more of Vader and Ahsoka's relationship past the point where the get together. I know I've said this before, but make sure you're following me so you'll be notified if and when Star Wars: The Unending 2 begins.
> 
> I would like to take the time to brag that for over 11 months, I never failed to upload at least on chapter every week. I created my fanfiction account less than a year ago, and I've already uploaded over 200,000 words. That's not counting work I've done on my novel.
> 
> Of course, now I'll be taking that break from writing fanfiction to focus on my novel now. Let me assure you that this is a planned break and I will absolutely be coming back in March. A lot of writers just disappear half way through a story and you have no idea of they're still alive and then maybe they show up again an eternity later. But not MVP. I announce in advance when my next story is coming and I always finish the story. However, I do not have a specific day picked out. It could be near the end of March. So if you check in March and there isn't a new story, I might need a little more time. And in the meantime, don't forget to read Disney Princesses: Extermination.
> 
> Thank you for reading. Please comment, subscribe and come back sometime in March for my next story.


End file.
